Do You Love Me
by FanGirlFreak16
Summary: Papyrus had never had many friends in his youth. In fact, the only one, as far as he was concerned, that he had was Sans. But when someone tells Papyrus that Sans was only taking care of him because he told their father that he would, Papyrus begins to question his self worth. Can his big brother fix the mess that he didn't even know begin?
1. Hated

A ten-year-old Papyrus peeked his head into his house, lit eyes looking around to see if his older brother, Sans, was home from work. Seeing no one on the couch or in the kitchen, Papyrus allowed himself to slip in the door.

To confirm his suspicion, he climbed the stairs of his house and looked to Sans's room. Not seeing any lights flashing underneath the doorway confirmed that Sans was indeed not home. That was all of the signal Papyrus needed to allow his tears to flow down his cheek bones.

He opened the door to his room and threw his backpack down onto the ground. He closed the door behind him and allowed his back to lean against the shut door.

Why didn't people like him?

Was he mean?

He tried not to be. If anything, he found himself becoming a pushover. Anything anyone asked of him he did. Well, as long as it didn't involve hurting others, which almost never happened.

Of course, he was to do what Sans told him because Sans was his legal guardian, but every child has that moment where the try to disobey.

Not Papyrus.

Or…at least…not anymore.

He did everything Sans told him, even if he had doubts. Not that Sans told him to do anything bad, but no child was perfect.

Not that Papyrus hadn't tried.

Oh, he did everything he could do so people would like him. But it was all in vain. He did other kids' homework; he did dangerous tasks that could have killed him. He had even tried to cross the barrier alone. Kids watched as he did it, claiming he was too afraid to do it.

He had entered the barrier, but he hadn't even made it halfway before he was pushed back by an invisible force. He was being manipulated by these kids, and he knew it. He just didn't want to admit it.

But they still avoided him in school and called him ugly names. No matter what he did to try and please them, it never seemed to work. He had disobeyed Sans to obey what the other children told him to do.

He could feel the sins of what he's done crawl against his back. Or…his spine. He wasn't supposed to go into the Hotlands without Sans because he had been afraid that Papyrus would fall into the lava.

Papyrus went to the Hotlands and did more than just be there without sans. The kids had set up a tightrope and told Papyrus to cross the lava.

He did.

He stumbled a few times, his eyes wide with fear of falling into the blistering hot lava. Needless to say, he hadn't fallen. Thankfully, Sans hadn't been working in that spot. He may have been off with the telescope, allowing monsters to look through.

Papyrus lifted a boney hand towards his cheekbone and wiped the tears dry. He had done so much to make people like him…but nothing worked. He looked to the photo on the top of his bookcase. It had his father, Sans and himself.

But he had only been a baby bones.

He didn't remember much about his parents. If he wanted to know something about them, he had to consult Sans. And that was a very hard thing to do.

Every time he asked Sans about their parents, Sans would always tear up and get choked up.

But he digresses.

He had also thought that it may have been his voice. It was extremely high pitched which kind of didn't make sense due to his tall frame. Well, he was tall for his age anyways. He was still maybe six inches shorter than Sans, but he was catching up to his older brother at a rapid rate.

To be fair, though, Sans had always been rather short for his age, ranging around at about five foot two at the age of eighteen.

"I just want to make friends." Papyrus said with a sniffle, his voice crestfallen. He heard the sound of the front door opening and closing; the sound of his brother's worried voice wasn't too far behind.

"I'm home! Papy, are you here?" He called. Papyrus took in a deep breath before cracking his door open slightly.

"I'm home, Sans." He called back, trying to hide the sadness that was in his voice.

Though the older skeleton was very observant, his brother's voice sounded fine to him. "Did you get your homework done, bud?"

Papyrus looked back to his backpack, the red cloth shining brightly in the light of his room. He only had to read a chapter left in his book. It wasn't that much. Maybe about five pages. He could honestly get it done in study hall. He turned his head back towards the door.

"Didn't have any." He called back. He ran to his closet, knowing Sans would want to see him. He grabbed the nearest shirt he could fine and wiped at his eye sockets and cheekbones. _Make it look like you weren't crying,_ he told himself. _Sans will want to get involved if you do._ Not to mention the constant bullying he endured. Sometimes they got physical, sometimes they didn't.

He opened his door all the way before running down the stairs to his oldest brother who was currently looking in the kitchen for something to make for dinner. Well, he hadn't really needed to. The only food in the entire house was spaghetti and half a bag of chips.

The two also went to Grillby's sometimes. "Did you have fun in school?" Sans asked as he continued to raid the cabinets.

Papyrus shrugged. "I learned stuff if that's what you're implying."

"Educate me." Sans said as he turned to the kitchen table only to pull out a kitchen chair to sit down. Due to Papyrus and himself being orphans, Sans hadn't been able to go to school since he didn't have much money, but he did have enough to send Papyrus to school. Though, the time where he worked with Alpyhs in the lab made up for the seven years of missed schooling.

Papyrus sat down across from his older brother, his hands folded on the table.

"Well, we're learning how to add and subtract fractions. We're also learning about atoms and electrical circuits." Papyrus said, knowing that his brother had a certain fondness for science.

Sans smiled at his little brother. "Now that's more of my area. Did you guys make electrical circuits?"

Papyrus nodded. "Yeah!" He said happily. "I got mine to turn on lightbulbs, and power fans!"

Sans smiled at his little brother fondly. "That's great! Did you have a lab partner?"

Papyrus felt a pang at his soul. _No,_ he thought, _because no one is willing to be with me._ "Pap? Hey, Pap, can you hear me?" Sans asked as he snapped his fingers in front of Papyrus's face. Papyrus shook his head as he found himself finally remembering where he was.

"Oh…uh…no…I did it all by myself." Papyrus told his older brother.

Sans squinted an eye. "But…don't they usually have you guys pair up for experiments like that?"

Papyrus looked down to the tile floor. _I don't like lying,_ he thought bitterly, _but if I tell the truth, Sans will get mad at those kids for making me upset, and then his eye will turn all blue, and I don't like it when he's mad. Comedy suits him better._ "Well…yeah…but…I wanted to do it on my own, so I didn't pair up with anybody." Papyrus lied.

Sans looked into Papyrus's pupiless eyes and shrugged. "Alright. I guess that's fine. I'm going to make dinner. Do you want spaghetti because that seems to be the only food item we actually have?" Sans joked.

Papyrus laughed lightly. "Yeah, sure. That's fine."

"And I'm not joking when I say this, kid," Sans said as he stood up to get a box of spaghetti. "We have a ton of spaghetti. A skele-ton."

Papyrus groaned at his brother's terrible pun. "Sans! Again with the puns?!"

Sans smiled at his younger brother. "Well, I'd tell you another joke about skeletons but tibia honest, I don't think you like them all that much."

Papyrus groaned as he threw his head back. "You're a lost cause, Sans, y'know that?" He asked before heading towards the stairs.

Sans chuckled as he shook his head. "I know, Pap."

Papyrus would have rolled his eyes…that is…if he actually had any. He opened his door and walked in to the welcoming sight that was his bedroom. He shut the door behind him with a sad sigh.

 ** _You know he doesn't actually like you._**

Papyrus looked around the room. "Wh-Who's there?" No one was in his room but him…so where could…

 ** _You don't know me, but I know you kid. I know all about this life. I know about all of the different timelines as well._**

"T-T…Timelines?" Papyrus asked in confusion as he continued to dart his eye sockets around the room in search of the voice.

 ** _Yes,_** the voice spoke. **_But that is for another time. But you really are an idiot._**

Papyrus looked hurt. "Hey," He said sadly, "that's mean."

 ** _You really are an idiot, aren't you? In this life it's kill or be killed. And your upset because of one insult? Pathetic. I could kill you on the spot right now. Same for your stupid brother._**

Papyrus could feel a bit of anger well up inside of him. "H-Hey!" He said angrily. "Sans is not an idiot! He is smarter than you'll ever be!"

 ** _And that's where you are wrong. I know everything, Papyrus. I know you, I know Sans, I know Frisk, I know Chara, I know Asgore, I know Toriel, I know Undyne, I know Alphys, I know 'em all._**

Papyrus growled lightly. "I don't know a Frisk or a Chara. Queen Toriel has been gone for years and everyone knows king Asgore. How do you know my name, though?" Papyrus asked, a bit of fear lining his words.

 ** _For a kid whose brother used to work in a lab, you really are an idiot! I'm all knowing! Which is also how I know that you are a useless, worthless, selfish, brat who cares for nobody but yourself. That's why Sans hates you._**

Papyrus could feel tears welling up in his eyes. Sans didn't hate him…did he? He wasn't worthless, useless, selfish or a brat…was he? That couldn't be true…could it? "Th-That's not true. Sans doesn't hate me. I'm not useless or worthless. I mean something! I do!" Papyrus cried in despair.

The voice cackled. **_Do you? Do you really, Papyrus? Does Sans really love you, or is he taking care of you merely because your father made him promise to do so? Your brother hates making promises. Now why is that?_**

Papyrus shook his head in disbelief, tears silently falling from his eye sockets. "I…I don't know. He…He never told me…b-b-but he loves me! I know he does!"

 ** _Why would he love the monster that killed his mother?_**

Papyrus shook his head venomously. "I…I didn't kill mom! I didn't!"

The voice tisked before showing itself. It was a small golden flower in a pot. **_It was either you or her. They chose you, though I don't know why. Sans wanted your mother to live rather than you. But no. She died when you were born. A soul parted from another only to destroy the soul that had carried it. You should be dead, Papyrus. You deserve to be dead._**

Papyrus growled through his tears while he walked near the flower. "Shut up!" He yelled as he went to pick the potted flower up, but as soon as he did, his fingers began to burn causing him to lose one HP. "Ow!" He yelped, his finger instinctively going to his mouth.

The flower chuckled evilly. **_You can't touch me, Papyrus. Not without hurting yourself, anyways._**

Papyrus growled at the flower. "You're stupid," He told the flower. "I don't like you."

 ** _Well, at least I have people who like me._**

"I have people who like me!" Papyrus protested.

 ** _Who? Sans doesn't like you. No one at school likes you. So…who does, exactly?_**

Papyrus looked to the flower before sitting on his bed. Papyrus sent teary eye sockets towards the flower. "Why are you here anyways? Why can't you go bother anyone else?"

 ** _Because you need a wakeup call, Papyrus. Someone has to tell you that you're worth nothing._**

Papyrus looked to the flower before lying down in his bed. He suddenly felt…empty. Had Sans really wanted him to die? Was he really only taking care of him because his father made him promise to do so?

He looked to the flower with a breaking look. "What's your name anyways?"

The flower smiled maliciously. "Flowey the flower."

 **I don't know how long this story is going to be, but it should be at least a few chapters long. Did you like it, love it, hate it? Let me know! Your opinion matters! :)**


	2. Ruined

Papyrus sat at his desk in school. He looked out the window watching all of the kids playing outside. It was recess, but Papyrus had no desire to play with the rest of the monster children.

He knew if he went outside to play with the rest, he'd be all alone. That or he'd be chased by the popular kids until they caught him. And if they caught him…Papyrus shuddered.

He didn't want to think about what would happen.

 ** _They'd beat you up until you couldn't even stand on your own,_** Flowey taunted as he appeared onto Papyrus's desk.

Papyrus sighed as he cradled his skull in his hand. "I know, Flowey. I just want someone to play with me." Papyrus felt tears build in his eye sockets.

 ** _Well, no one will! You're too stupid and worthless! Even Sans knows this! We both know he hates you!_**

"Sh-Shut up." Papyrus told the flower that sat on his desk.

Flowey glared at him, his teeth bared. **_Shut up you useless brat! Why don't you go kill yourself and make everyone much happier?_**

Papyrus growled at the flower. "Shut up!" He tried to smack the potted flower away from him, but he was zapped just as he had been back in his room. His HP then dropped by three. He growled again as the pain continued to course throughout his hand.

All the flower could do was laugh.

"Oh, well, isn't it the sad little skeleton that nobody likes?" A kid taunted. Papyrus looked up from the flower who seemed to evaporate into thin air. _Not Calibri,_ Papyrus thought dejectedly.

"Leave me alone." Papyrus whimpered, shrinking in on himself.

Calibri laughed. "Why would I? You're an idiot, Papyrus! No wonder your brother hates you so much!"

Papyrus growled as he stood from his desk. "He doesn't hate me!"

Calibri scowled at Papyrus before throwing his fist right into Papyrus's face. Papyrus stumbled back falling to the ground, his hand now holding his cheekbone. He looked up to Calibri with a scowl. "L-Leave me alone!" Papyrus said, tears peeking into his eyes, but he hid them as best as he could.

Calibri laughed with his head thrown back. "Pathetic! What a loser! Sans wouldn't care if you were dead! He would laugh if anything at all!" Calibri laughed before exiting the class room.

Papyrus growled as a few tears ran down his cheekbones, wincing when the salty tears fell onto his sore cheekbone. No doubt that it would bruise. _How am I going to hide this from Sans,_ Papyrus wondered? Then sudden realization struck him.

 _Would Sans care?_

Sans was his older brother, of course he'd care.

 _But…then again…who would care about the person who killed their mother?_

The thought made more tears run down Papyrus's face. He wiped them away with the back of his index finger.

"Th-They have to be lying," Papyrus whispered, drawing his knees up to his chest. "Th…They have to be. S…Sans likes me. He…He loves me. I know he does. I know-"

 ** _Are you for certain?_**

Papyrus growled watery as Flowey came into vision once more. "Can't you just leave me alone? Seriously. I don't want you here."

 ** _Well, no one wants you here, but you are._**

"Shut up." Papyrus grumbled as he stood on his feet, his index finger wiping away more tears.

He made a small orange flame with his hand and placed it to his cheekbone. He only took his hand off when the stinging stopped, signifying the bruise had been healed. "No problem," He told himself. "My healing skills will come in handy if I get bullied like that again."

 ** _You can't keep that up forever. You can only heal yourself of small wounds, nothing major. If worse comes to pass, you won't be able to heal yourself. You'd have to tell Sans._**

"I won't let that happen," Papyrus told Flowey as he stood, looking at the whiteboard. "I'm a good liar. Plus, the bullies have never gotten _that_ bad. I should be able to handle them."

 ** _You really are an idiot; you know that?_**

Papyrus let out a shaky breath, his eye sockets closed. "I know."

OoOoOoO

 _W. D. Gaster. A fine scientist. A brilliant man. A terrible father. At least, after Mom died. Maybe for a week after Mom had died, he had been fine. His same old self if you will._

 _But it was just a cover._

Sans sighed as he couldn't bear to think anymore of his father. "He burned in Hell. I'm sure of it." _Good,_ he thought bitterly.

He looked to the clock that sat behind his post.

 _2:50pm._

"Papyrus will be home soon." He said with a gentle sigh of relief. The kid was the only family he had left. Quite honestly, Papyrus was his life. Life without the small child would be a nightmare. He always brightened his day when words flew from his mouth.

But if you asked Sans, he could swear that something was wrong with Papyrus. He tended to always do things on his own. He didn't ask to go play with other kids. But…then again…no kids came knocking on their doors asking to play with Papyrus.

It was quite concerning, but Sans didn't push the matter.

He jumped slightly when the clock behind him began ringing. His eyes leapt to look at the clock behind him.

 _3:00pm._

His shift was over.

Or…at least for now. He'd have to come back later at around eleven. One shift, he found, wasn't enough to keep the house. That's why he was always accidently falling asleep.

When Papyrus was asleep, Sans would lock the house up completely before leaving for work. This shift normally only lasted for about five to six hours, however.

He sighed before turning the alarm off. He let out a small yawn before making his way down to the boatman. Or…was it boatwoman? They told everyone that it doesn't matter. Whatever the gender, Sans made his way down to their boat transportation.

His jacket slumped over his shoulders despite the blistering heat of the Hotlands. Despite feeling a little overheated, it didn't bother him all that much. He stepped onto the boat of the boatperson.

"Where to?" They asked.

"Snowdin, please." He asked.

"Then off we go." The boatperson said as they started the boat. Sans relaxed on the floor of the boat where he sat. _Maybe Pap and I should just go to Grillby's tonight. We haven't gone in a while, and I'm sure he misses Grillby just as much as I do,_ Sans thought.

Slowly, the weather began to change, the blistering heat turning into a freezing cold environment.

Maybe in about five minutes, the boat stopped in a place where snow sat upon the ground. "Here we are. Come back soon. Tra la la."

Sans smiled slightly as he exited off of the boat and began the walk to his home. Snow crunching underneath his blue and white sneakers, he jammed his hands into the pockets of his jacket. _I've gotta get that kid out of the house. And if not with a friend, maybe with his older brother,_ Sans thought with a soft smile on his face?

He opened his front door, finding his younger brother sitting at the kitchen table, book in hand. Sans smiled softly. _He didn't hear me come in,_ he thought mischievously. He sneaked quietly into the kitchen before lighting his hand with a blue flame, his eye lighting up to match.

He made the book in Papyrus's weak grip float above his head. Papyrus's head whipped around, smiling very slightly "Hey," He said in protest, the small smile not leaving his face, "give me my book back. I need that for school."

Sans smiled at his brother slyly. "Nah, that's not what you need." He said slyly as he tossed the book aside, lifting his brother in the air with his magic.

"Hey!" Papyrus shouted in protest. "Let me down!"

Sans shrugged, closing his eye sockets. "That'll only happen if you go put on a jacket and come play out in the snow with me."

Papyrus's face was almost one of shock. "R-Really?" The stutter made Sans open one of his eyes, a small frown on his face. "You really want to play with me?"

"Yeah," Sans said with a nervous laugh, "why are you so surprised?"

Papyrus quickly pulled himself together once he realized that his brother had figured out that he had been a bit surprised. Any other normal day, Papyrus wouldn't have been surprised at all, but when you've had insults and taunts thrown at your head all day your attitude begins to change.

"I'm not," Papyrus lied, "I'm just really excited!" He said as he was lowered to the ground.

Sans smiled at the younger skeleton. "Good, now go get a jacket on. It's freezing outside."

Papyrus nodded eagerly before running up the stairs to put on a jacket. Sans smiled with a small shake of his head. _This kid sure knows how to brighten my day._

OoOoOoO

"C'mon, Sans! Let's make ourselves out of the snow!" Papyrus suggested as he began to gather snow in a pile. Sans smiled gently. His brother _would_ want to do something as extravagant as that.

"Why don't I just help make you out of snow?"

Papyrus looked to his brother with a questioning gaze. "You don't want to make yourself?"

Sans shrugged. "Eh, not really. But I'll help make yours."

"I'll help make you," Papyrus offered. "Please, big brother?"

Sans sighed with a small smile on his face. "I'll do something that looks like me."

Papyrus smiled widely as he got to work on his own snow person while Sans began to do his.

By the time they were both done, Papyrus had made a fine snowman of himself. "Done!" He proclaimed proudly. He peeked around his snowman to take a gander at his brother's creation. He couldn't suppress the small that giggle that tore out of his throat. "Sans! You just made a snow pile and wrote your name on it in marker!"

Sans smiled at his giggling brother. "What're you talking about?" He asked jokingly. "If you ask me, I'd say that it looks _exactly_ like me!"

Suddenly, Papyrus stopped laughing. "Sans…what is that behind you?" Seeing his brothers fast change of attitude, Sans quickly looked behind himself.

"What? Where?" Papyrus smiled evilly as he gathered snow into his hands before throwing it at his unsuspecting brother. As soon as the snow came in contact with Sans's bones, he let out a yelp of surprise.

Sans looked to his giggling little brother with a smirk on his face. "Oh?" He said quietly. So quiet that it was scary. "So that's how you want to play, huh?" He asked while making a snowball in his hand. "Well," He said as he bounced it up and down in his hand, "two can play at that game."

Papyrus looked to his brother before running. Sans just smiled while he shook his head. He threw the snowball as hard as he could, hitting Papyrus in the back of his spine. Papyrus smiled mischievously before returning the treatment.

Sans smiled as he ran to take cover. _The kid's gonna sleep good tonight._

OoOoOoO

"Why do you get so tired, Sans?" Papyrus asked as the two entered their house, each other's clothing covered in thrown snow.

Sans shrugged with a small yawn. "I dunno, Pap. Guess I'm just lazy."

"That's not true," Papyrus said with a small frown. "You work just so I can go to school and so we can eat. You're not lazy. You're awesome."

Sans smiled at his little brother, rubbing the top of his head fondly. "Thanks, buddy."

"Did Dad work like you do when we were little?" Papyrus only dared to ask.

Sans bit his lower jaw. _Not after you were born,_ he thought bitterly. "Well, for a while he did. But…maybe a week after you were born. He stopped being much of a father. But…let's not get into that, ok, Pap?"

Papyrus frowned. "What do you mean he stopped being much of a father?" He questioned.

Sans shook his head. "Don't worry about it, Pap. It's not your problem. Maybe I'll tell you when you're older."

Papyrus looked to his brother with a small look of hurt but nodded anyways. "Ok."

Sans watched sadly as Papyrus went to retrieve his book. _It's not that I want to keep him from knowing what Dad was like,_ Sans thought sadly. _I just don't want to tell him what he did._

OoOoOoO

Papyrus wiped a single stray tear away from his face with a wipe of his shirt. _Maybe it's best that I don't know what Dad was like,_ he thought sadly, his eyes wandering away from his book and to the photo that sat on the top of his bookcase.

He slid off of his racecar bed and retrieved the footstool in his closet. He placed it near the bookshelf before standing on it, his tiptoes shooting up. His arm reached for the photo until it came into his grasp. He looked down at himself. He was sleeping in his father's arms, Sans standing right beside them.

Sans seemed a little sad, but he had a small smile on his face. Papyrus watched as one of his tears fell on the picture frame. He shook his head before stepping off of the stepstool. "If Sans doesn't think it's worth telling me about Dad," He said as he moved to his closet, placing the stepstool back in. He grabbed a box from the closet that contained a lot of old, forgotten, memories. He opened the flaps before sighing, "then maybe it's not worth knowing." He placed the photo in the box of forgotten memories before shoving it to the back of the closet and shutting the door.

"He stopped being a father after I was born," Papyrus said dejectedly. "Once again, losing our parents is all my fault."

 ** _Exactly._**

"You really know the worst time to show up, don't you?" Papyrus asked through tears.

 ** _Is there ever really a good time to show up?_**

"No," Papyrus said as he wiped his tears away, sniffing slightly, "I guess there isn't."

 ** _So…do you still think Sans cares about you?_**

"Well," Papyrus answered as he sat on his racecar bed, "he must. I mean, why else would he want to play with me?"

 ** _Pity._**

Papyrus shook his head. "He's not playing with me out of pity. He's doing it because he _wants_ to do it."

 ** _Then why won't he tell you about Mr. D. W. Gaster?_**

Papyrus sighed with a shrug of his shoulders. "I dunno. Maybe he's trying to protect me from the truth."

 ** _Or maybe he doesn't want to tell you about the time where you ruined his life._**

"I didn't ruin his life." Papyrus protested, his eyes showing a bit of anger.

Flowey smiled maliciously. **_Really? Because of you, he has to work just to keep the both of you alive. Because of you, he couldn't get a full education. Because of you, he was forced to grow up all too fast! You ruined his life, Papyrus! You ruined it!_**

"I did not-" But before he could finish his sentence, he began to think about it. If he hadn't been born, Sans _wouldn't_ have had to work just to survive. Their parents would still be alive. If he hadn't been born, Sans _could_ have gotten a full education. If he hadn't been born, Sans _wouldn't_ have had to grow up so fast.

He really _did_ ruin Sans's life.

 **How am I doing so far? Let me know! Did you like it, love it, hate it? Let me know! Your opinion matters! :)**


	3. Hidden

_Sans looked around the familiar scene of empty beer bottles and half used cigarette packages. He was in his room, but it looked like the room from when he was younger._

 _Much younger._

 _Almost ten years younger…_

 _He stood from his small bed. His room was actually clean. Though…he couldn't see all that well. He lit his eyes up to provide a little light._

 _Both of them were lit._

 _He looked around the room. There was only a small bed and a closet. Everything else had been thrown out. A few quantum physics books sat under his bed. He had smuggled them from his father's laboratory without him noticing._

 _If he had…well…Sans wasn't sure if he'd be able to heal all of his wounds with his magic._

 _His bed was empty._

 _A feeling of dread washed over him. He looked towards his door and made a mad dash for it. He threw the door open and ran down the stairs into the living room._

 _He was immediately welcomed by the sound of a loud childish cry. His eyes darted around frantically until his eyes fell upon his father._

 _W. D. Gaster stood there with a month old Papyrus. He was shaking the poor infant and screaming at him. Sans felt anger boil high in him. His eyes were glowing a bright blue as he balled his small fists._

 _"Put him down!" He screamed at his father._

 _W. D. Gaster whirled around quickly. So much so, that the small infant nearly slipped right through his finger bones. His eyes glared menacingly at his eight-year-old son. "Since when do you get to tell me how to parent you two?!" He yelled making Papyrus cry and scream even louder._

 _Sans grit his teeth, his eyes clenching shut in anger. He opened his eyes, their bright blue ablaze like a fire. With a roar of anger, he threw a magic ball at his father, not surprised when his father dodged it._

 _His father growled even more. Gaster threw the small baby down onto the couch before clenching his own fist. "If it's a fight you want…" He said menacingly, his right eye turning orange and his left turning blue. He powered two magic balls at his son, each barely missing and smacking into the ground, "it's a fight you'll get!"_

 _Sans growled, his fists clenched. He threw his hand back, two gaster blasters forming behind him. He threw his hand forward causing the gaster blasters to emit a white laser at his father._

 _They shot right through his father, Gaster taking no damage. All it took was one hit…and Sans would be dead. I've gotta be extra careful, Sans thought. My baby bro is counting on me._

 _His father did the same attack. Sans wasn't as skilled as his father. He couldn't just allow the lasers to go through him without taking any damage. He slid out of the way, falling onto his arm. He gasped in pain and allowed his left hand to shoot up and cradle his right._

 _Good thing I'm left handed, Sans thought. When he looked up, he was met with his father's fist to his right eye._

 _"Agh!" Sans yelled, his left hand reaching for his right eye. He felt a warm, sticky substance coat his hand. He growled._

 _"Stay away from my baby brother!" He yelled._

 _Gaster smirked. He shot a gaster blaster at Sans, hitting his right eye once again. Sans fell to the ground, barely able to stand. He squinted his right eye shut, but his left remained open and ablaze. He watched as a red drop dripped onto the ground. He lifted his head, but when he did, his pupil shrunk two sizes._

 _"D…Don't!" He shouted, his left hand shooting out, but it emitted no source of magic._

 _His father smirked before picking Papyrus up. He looked down to the small baby in his arms. He smiled…almost warmly…but as quick as it had been there, it was gone. It was replaced with a frown that showed nothing but pure hatred._

 _He rose Papyrus up in the air before bringing his arms down with as much force as he could, sending the baby straight down to the ground. The sickening sound of bones shattering filled the room along with the earth shattering screams of the small infant._

 _Sans's eye widened in fear, shock, and sadness. "No," He said out of disbelief. "No," He began to shake his head, tears spilling out of both of his eyes. "No! No! No!"_

"No!" Sans yelled as he shot upright in bed. He panted heavily. He looked around his room. It was his normal pigsty of a room. He placed a hand against his ribcage. "Fuck," He said through pants. "Fucking hell," He allowed a few tears to fall and slip down his cheekbones. _Just a nightmare,_ he thought.

His left hand reached up for his right eye. After that fight with his father, his right eye had never again been able to light up. But the only difference between the dream and reality was that Gaster had never gotten the chance to throw Papyrus down on the ground, shattering him into smithereens. He had been close, but he hadn't.

Sans slid his legs over the side of the bed and stood, his feet hitting the cold floor. _I've gotta check on him,_ he thought. His eyes then wandered to the digital clock that sat on his nightstand.

 _4:21am._

He sighed. He had only gotten off of his second shift twenty-one minutes ago. He opened his door before walking down the hallway to his younger brother's room. His hand gripped the small handle made of brass before turning it and pushing the door open.

There, in his racecar bed, lied a ten-year-old Papyrus. Sans let out a quiet breath that he hadn't even realized he had been holding. Not being quite satisfied, Sans walked into the room, the door slowly creaking as it opened fully, allowing the light from the small nightlight in the hallway to shine in.

There, underneath the checkered comforter, was Papyrus, head pressed against his pillow, and body curled up into a ball, head facing the wall.

Sans, again, let out a breath he hadn't known he had been holding. "Just a dream." He said quietly.

He heard the sound of Papyrus stirring underneath his sheets and began to panic silently. He heard a silent yawn. "Sans?" The small voice asked. "What are you doing in my room? What time is it?" Papyrus asked as he sat up in bed, rubbing his right hand against his right eye socket. But once Papyrus took a glance at Sans's face, all of the other questions vanished from his mind. "Hey," He asked, "Sans, are you ok?"

Sans nodded once. "Yeah," He said. "Why wouldn't I be?"

"You're crying and your left eye is blue," Papyrus explained with concern etched into his face. Papyrus scooted over on his bed and patted the empty space next to him. "What happened?"

Sans sighed as he took a seat next to his little brother. "Nothing that you need to worry about, Papy. Just…something that decided it didn't want to leave me alone."

"Nightmare?" Papyrus asked, leaning his head against his eighteen-year-old brother.

Sans sighed with a slight nod. "Yeah, bro, but don't worry about it. I don't need you worrying about anything at all."

"Sans," Papyrus reprimanded, "you're my brother. I'm going to worry about _everything_ that happens to you. Whether it's a nightmare or you're on your death bed. You always listen to me when I have nightmares. I wanna listen to yours, too." Papyrus said, his eyes glowing a comforting shade of orange.

Sans sighed gently. "Long story, short, you died, and I failed to protect you. But that's _never_ going to happen. As long as I'm still standing, nothing will hurt you."

"Sans," Papyrus said softly, trailing his finger up and down Sans's arm, "you can't protect me from _everything_. But I still doubt that that will make you stop trying. But I'm here; I'm alive, and I'm well. There's nothing wrong with me."

Sans sighed before gazing into his little brother's eyes. The sound of the shrill cry that had erupted from Papyrus's throat as a baby haunting him, causing a few more tears to slip into his eye sockets.

Papyrus noticed this and hugged his brother tightly around the neck. "Hey," He soothed, "don't cry. I'm here. I'm here and I'm fine."

Sans buried his face in his little brother's shoulder, tears soaking his brother's shirt. "It was just a dream, big brother."

Sans took in a shaky breath before nodding and slowly releasing his grip on Papyrus. Papyrus smiled gently at his big brother. "Wanna stay with me tonight?"

Sans flashed Papyrus a watery smile, the blue flame in his eye finally going down. "Can I?"

Papyrus smiled widely before nodding ecstatically. "Yeah! When was the last time we had a sleep over?"

Sans smiled at his baby brother before lying back on the bed. When was the last time they had a sleepover? It seemed like forever ago.

As soon as he lied down, Papyrus cuddled himself close to Sans's ribcage. "G'night, Sans. Love ya." He said, his eyes drooping close.

Sans let out a small sigh. "Love ya, too."

OoOoOoO

"I never did ask…why can you only light one eye?" Papyrus asked his older brother curiously.

Sans froze slightly, the nightmare from last night coming back to mind. The pain in his right eye came back as well. "That's a story for another time, bro." Sans told him as they continued the walk to Papyrus's school.

"Can you see out of it?" Papyrus asked, his hand still in his older brother's.

Sans shrugged slightly. "Not very well. I see black spots in it, and colors appear more dark than they should, but I can see with it."

"Dad was a scientist, right?"

Sans nodded. "Yes, he was. A brilliant one at that." _Who used his children as his test guinea pigs._

"When will you tell me what he was like?" Papyrus asked, his eyes wandering to Sans's.

Sans looked at him nervously. "Pap, I will sometime in the future, but now's not a good time."

"Why not? When will it be a good time?"

"Papyrus!" Sans reprimanded, sharper than he had intended. "I'm not telling you now, and I'm not telling you for a while, so just let it go!"

Papyrus's eyes widened before closing in hurt. He looked away from his big brother before walking off in front of him.

Sans sighed sadly. "Pap, look, I'm sorry, but I-"

"Just go," Papyrus said shakily, his head turned away from Sans. "Don't you have places to be?"

Sans sighed before stuffing his hands in the pockets of his jacket. "Just…make sure you get to school alright."

When Papyrus heard another set of footsteps walking in the snow he sighed shakily, his breath freezing into fog. "Like you care." He whispered under his breath.

 ** _He doesn't._**

"I just established this." Papyrus growled out.

 ** _Still, it's nice to think and say, don't you think?_**

"No, I don't. I just want to be liked by _somebody_."

 ** _Maybe your father liked you?_**

"He's dead, so even if I wanted to believe that, I wouldn't be able to talk to him." Papyrus said, his own hands stuffed into his red jacket.

 ** _Why won't Sans tell you? Why does he get to know about your guys' father, and you don't?_**

"He was born first," Papyrus said as the school came into view, "so of course he has memories of father. But he died when I was…what? Maybe a year old? Sans was either eight or nine."

 ** _But you have a right to know, don't you?_**

"Well, yes, but…I have to respect Sans no matter how unfair the matter may be." Papyrus said, his hands going to the red straps of his backpack, his booted feet crunching against the white snow.

 ** _Who said you have to do that?_**

Papyrus looked to Flowey. If he had eyebrows, one of them would be cocked, but since he didn't he'd have to deal with a squinted eye socket instead. "Well, no one told me right up front that I _have_ to, but Sans took care of me when I was just a helpless baby. He didn't _have_ to, but he did. And because of that, I should show him the utmost respect."

 ** _But he's keeping secrets from you! Don't you want to know what your father was like?_**

"Well," Papyrus said with a sigh, "of course I do. But if Sans won't tell me, then maybe it isn't worth knowing after all."

 ** _You really are an idiot, aren't you?_**

"So I've been told." Papyrus said dejectedly. He was soon unwelcomed by the scenery of the school. He felt very unsafe in the building. He looked around, waiting to see if Calibri or any of the other monsters were in the hallways.

Well, a few were, but maybe only one or two from his grade. That being Snowdrake and Gyftrot. Papyrus gritted his teeth as he began to walk past the two other monsters. _Here goes nothing._

"Hey, look it's that kid who stays inside during recess! Who does he think he is?"

"He's a loser. Don't waste your breath on him. He isn't worth the waste of air." Papyrus stuffed his fists into the pockets of his red jacket. _There's good in them,_ he told himself. _I just have to remember that. There's good in them. They can be good if they want to be._

"Loser!" Kids yelled as they walked past him.

 _They're good. They can be good. They can, they can, they can!_ Papyrus could feel tears welling up in his eye sockets. _Don't cry,_ he told himself.

 _Don't cry._

OoOoOoO

Papyrus looked at all of the kids talking to each other, laughing and smiling. He couldn't help but feel a little lonely.

School had dragged on just like it did every day. But that had only been the first half. Now, it was lunch time. Once again, Papyrus sat alone at a table, watching as everyone else smiled and laughed while they ate their lunch. He could only push his food around with his plastic fork. He sighed sadly.

A young girl, about the same age as him, looked to Papyrus through her small rectangular glasses. She was a flame monster, so she tried to avoid liquids as best as she could.

She looked at the back of his hoodie and head. His hoodie had been thrown over his head, and he was slouching. She drowned out the sound of her friends talking.

 _I know that boy,_ she thought. _Him and his brother come to my dad's diner a lot. They're nice monsters._ She looked back to her friends. She would go and sit with Papyrus, but the reminder of popularity refrained her from doing so.

"Hey, kid, are you going to eat that?" She heard Snowdrake ask Papyrus. She looked back over to the scene.

"N-No." Papyrus stuttered, shaking his head rather rapidly.

Snowdrake smiled evilly. "Good." He took Papyrus's lunch tray into his hands before dumping it on Papyrus's head. Papyrus's eyes widened in shock and hurt. Snowdrake laughed as he walked away.

Papyrus down casted his eyes before leaving the lunchroom to head to the bathroom to get cleaned up. _Why doesn't anybody like me,_ he wondered, tears built in his eye sockets? _Why does everyone hate me?_

 **Am I doing alright? Let me know! Did you like it, love it, hate it? Let me know!**


	4. Protected

_He looked to the many stores that lined the small town. Then he looked to the small child making a snowman in the distance. He sighed. He knew Papyrus was getting hungry, but he didn't have the money to buy him food._

 _So he had to steal it._

 _Street rat is what some people would call him, but that's the last thing he would call himself. He'd rather be called a brother who is trying to feed his little brother. Really, it was still no excuse to steal, but he did it anyways._

 _He had to._

 _He walked into a crowded store, thankful for the fact of others being there. It would make getting caught much harder. He looked around the store. Not much, he reminded himself._

 _He looked around the store. He snatched two apples and placed them in his patchy hoodie, one he had found at the dump. One more thing for Papyrus, he told himself._

 _He looked around, trying to act as casual as he could. In the end he had grabbed a carton of strawberries. The carton wasn't that big. It contained around maybe ten to fifteen strawberries, and the container was no bigger than his twelve-year-old hand._

 _He stuffed the carton into his pocket along with the two apples and shoved his hands in his pockets so he didn't look too suspicious. But, then again, a child in a patchy hoodie would probably look suspicious enough. Nevertheless, he exited the store unnoticed._

 _He neared his little brother, a regretful look on his face. He shouldn't have felt such regret, since his little brother needed it, but he still couldn't help the gnawing feeling that ate away at his soul._

 _"Hey, Pap, I got some food!" He called to his little brother. Papyrus looked up from his snow man to smile at Sans._

 _"Oh, boy!" He said as he ran to his brother. Sans smiled at his little brother. He reached into his pockets and showed his little brother the two apples and carton of strawberries he had managed to pick up. Papyrus picked up an apple and took a bite into it._

 _Sans smiled at the four-year-old child with a fond grin. "C'mon, buddy, let's get home." Home, at the time, had been an abandoned shack they had stumbled upon when they found the small town. But it was where they lived, and neither of them minded as long as they had a roof over their heads. He's the reason you try, Sans told himself._

Sans sighed as he sat at home, awaiting Papyrus's arrival. Normally, Papyrus was home before Sans was. Naturally, Sans was worried about his brother's whereabouts.

He had tried calling him, but he wasn't answering. _One more time,_ Sans thought to himself as he autodialed his little brother.

 _Ring…_

 _Ring…_

 _Ring…_

 _You have reached-_

Sans didn't bother listening to the voicemail. He had left…how many exactly? Maybe around six. He shook his head before walking to the front door, not bothering to put his sneakers on, his socked feet immediately hitting the freezing cold snow.

He didn't even seem to notice the burning cold that penetrated through his toe and feet bones. He just began to run to the school grounds. _There's nowhere else Papy could be,_ Sans thought to himself. A normally nineteen-minute walk only took seven minutes for Sans to run.

He looked to the black gate that sat in front of the school, his eyes darting around looking for his little brother on the school ground. "Papyrus?" He called out.

The school grounds had been completely empty except for the snow that collected onto the ground. Sans's hands latched around the black bars of the closed school gates. _He can't be in there if they locked the gates,_ Sans thought. _They look all over the school before locking it up._

"Papyrus!" He called out again, his hands making an 'o' shape around his mouth.

"S…S…Sans?" Came Papyrus's shaky voice.

Sans's eyes widened as he looked around the white, monotonous fields. "Papyrus! Where are you, buddy?!"

A small cough was all that Sans got as a response. Sans looked around…until he saw the brick alleyway. A small bundle sat against the brick wall, shivering uncontrollably.

Sans's eye sockets widened, his legs running as fast as he could to the small, shivering bundle. His eyes dimmed at the sight of his brother.

"Hell…"

OoOoOoO

Papyrus adjusted the strap of his backpack as his boots trudged in the thick snow. His jacket was now stained with various food and liquid substances that had once sat on his lunch tray. _There's good in them,_ he reminded himself. _There has to be._

He heard loud laughter and slight whimpering. "L…Leave me alone!" Came a small voice. Papyrus stopped walking and frowned. The voice couldn't be older than five or six. His eye sockets darted to the brick alleyway that sat right next to the school.

Six high school students were beating up a small monster, smaller than himself. Papyrus's eye sockets widened as he dropped his backpack in the snow only to run to the scene of the bullying. "Stop!" He cried out.

The six high school students looked over to the small fourth grader and frowned. "Why should we?"

"He's just a kid!" Papyrus yelled at them, his arms crossed.

Aaron cocked an eyebrow over at Papyrus. "And what are you going to do to stop us? You gonna fight us?"

Papyrus's head spun just at the thought of fighting. What a horrid word! Why would anyone want to hurt someone else just for selfish benefits? It was absolutely horrendous! "Absolutely not!" Papyrus yelled with a stomp of his foot.

Gyftrot smirked at Papyrus as he picked up the small monster. "And what will you do if I slam him into this wall?" The small monster looked to Papyrus with pleading eyes. Papyrus gritted his teeth, his eye sockets showing one of slight anger.

"You wouldn't!"

"Really?" Gyftrot raised the small monster, getting ready to throw them into the wall. Papyrus's eye sockets widened. And all too fast, Papyrus launched himself at the small child, his arms wrapping around his small frame before the two dove into the snow. Papyrus looked up to the scowling teenagers then back at the small child.

"Run," He whispered into the kid's ear. "Run, and don't look back." The child nodded before taking off, leaving Papyrus alone with the six teenagers. Aaron smirked at the fourth grader.

"Well," Aaron said, a smirk lining his face, "looks like we have a new toy." Papyrus's eye sockets widened as he tried to get away, only to back right up into the brick wall. _Shoot,_ Papyrus thought with distress.

Gyftrot raised Papyrus up with an evil smile. "Well…I guess I can give you the same treatment I _was_ going to give the other brat. Unless you try to fight back." Papyrus shook his head, eye sockets scrunched up in slight anger.

"No!" He shouted. "I refuse!"

Gyftrot shrugged. "Fine," He said nonchalantly, "your loss." With that, Gyftrot rose Papyrus in the air before throwing him into the wall. Papyrus cried out in pain as his head hit the brick wall.

The world had gone black.

OoOoOoO

"Papyrus!"

"Papyrus!"

The voice was foggy, but Papyrus could just barely make out who it was. He tried to force words out of his mouth, but they just got caught in his throat. _How long have I been out?_ Though, the question wasn't one that could be answered considering he hadn't been able to his eyes yet.

"S…S…Sans?"

"Papyrus! Where are you buddy?!"

Papyrus tried to reply but could only cough. He heard the loud sound of snow crunching underneath a set of feet. He could only assume that it was Sans's seeing as no other children would be calling for him.

He heard the crunching of snow stop abruptly before a word being flown from a mouth. "Hell…" Yep, it was definitely Sans. "Pap…can you hear me?"

 _Yes,_ Papyrus thought but couldn't say. He felt himself being scooped up into someone's arms. He guessed that they belonged to Sans. "Alright, bud. We need to get you to the nearest house as fast as possible. Our house is too far away." Sans carried his brother in silence for the next eight minutes before walking into a warm environment.

"Sans? What the heck happened to Papyrus?"

"I don't know. Our house is too far to risk him being like this and I didn't want to try and heal him in the cold. Is it ok if I do it here?"

"I don't mind. Go into my house. Just go through the fire exit and you'll be there."

"Thanks."

Again, they began to move until the environment became a bit warmer. Soon, Papyrus was sat on a soft cushion, hands touching his head. "Alright, bud," Sans said, "let's fix you up." A warm, tingling, feeling made its self known throughout Papyrus's injured skull.

The aching and pounding in his head slowly died down a bit, but he still had a pounding headache. The warm and tingling feeling went away after around ten minutes leaving him to suffer through the rest of the terrible headache.

"That's all I can do, Pap. You've gotta wake up, k? I need you to wake up."

The sound of a door opening and closing could be heard. "How is he?"

Sans sighed slightly. "I've managed to heal his wounds. Now he just has to wake up."

There was the faint sound of creaking stairs before a small voice spoke out. "Daddy? Who are you talking to?"

Papyrus faintly remembered the voice. _She's a popular girl. I can't let her see me!_ Though, no matter how much he wanted to wake up, his eyes wouldn't open.

"Do you remember Sans and Papyrus?"

"Yes. Papyrus is in my grade."

"Well, Papyrus had a bit of an…accident. Sans brought him here so he could heal him quickly." The sound of frantic feet against a wooden staircase made its way known to the semiconscious Papyrus. _Is she coming down? Is she concerned about me?_

"What's wrong? What happened to him?"

"Calm down, Ember. He's going to be alright."

Ember? So that was her name. Sure, Papyrus had gone to school with her, but he had never really spoken to her due to the fact that she was popular. In fact, he didn't know half of the kids' names in his grade.

He groaned lightly, his hand slightly dragging up his snow covered jacket. "Pap? C'mon. Wake up, Papyrus." Came Sans's voice. Papyrus balled his hand into a fist with a small groan, his eyes cracking open slightly.

"S…Sans?"

Sans laughed sadly, a nervous look on his face. "Thank gosh you're ok."

Papyrus placed his hand against his forehead, his fingers touching a few of the newfound cracks. "My head hurts." He groaned.

Sans sighed sadly, his arm gripping Papyrus's shoulder. "I know, Pap. When we get home, I want to know what happened. You looked absolutely horrible."

Papyrus took in the sights around him. The green fabric that made up the couch, the brown, wooden end table that sat in the center of the living room, and his brother who sat next to him on the end of the green couch.

Ember slowly made her way towards Papyrus, her pink dress kicking up slightly each time she took a step towards the skeleton. She looked to his now pupil less eyes. "Are you ok, Papyrus?" She asked, her voice small and shy. Papyrus looked to her with slight shock before giving a slight nod.

Sans looked to Papyrus's eyes and frowned. "Pap, can you light your pupils for me?" Papyrus looked into Sans's own white pupils, trying to manipulate the action he used to be able to do so easily. They didn't light.

Papyrus shook his head slightly, trying not to irritate the headache any more than it already was. "I can't, Sans."

Sans sighed. "Alright, bud. We need to get home, and then you're going to tell me what happened."

Papyrus's now pupil less eyes scanned over to Ember, whose hands were folded in front of her, pink dress wavering slightly from a mysterious draft, eyes peering out to Papyrus through her black rimmed frames.

His eyes almost immediately looked away when he knew that she was looking towards him. Sans looked towards Grillby. "Thanks for letting us stay here for a bit, Grillbz, but Pap's and I have to get home. He's got some explaining to do." The words that left Sans's mouth weren't threatening as if Papyrus was in trouble, but they sounded much more worried instead. Well, Sans didn't have a reason to be mad anyways. At least…not towards Papyrus, anyways. And he wasn't.

Grillby nodded, his hand on his daughter's back. "It was no problem. If there is anything else wrong, do not hesitate to ask for help if needed." Sans chuckled slightly, helping his brother up from the couch.

"Sure, Grillbz. Thanks." And with that Sans teleported the two of them home.

OoOoOoO

"Alright, how did that happen?" Sans asked, his brother sitting on his racecar bed.

Papyrus looked down to his knees, his fingers fiddling with the blanket on his bed. "I tripped." He lied. Though lying was a strong suit of his, Sans didn't believe his little brother.

"Really?" He asked suspiciously. "You tripped and fell at such an angle that your skull was cracked so bad to the point of almost _losing_ your skull?"

"Yes?" Papyrus said, but his statement sounded more like a question rather than an answer. Sans sighed sadly before sitting next to Papyrus on his bed, his arm wrapping around Papyrus's shoulders.

"Pap," He said gently, "I know you're lying," Sans looked into Papyrus's dark eyes. "You know you're lying. Please, just tell me the truth." He said, his expression one of worry and concern, his usual smile turned upside down into a frown.

Papyrus sighed. He began to explain to Sans about the small child that the high school students had ganged up on and how he refused to fight back. He only wanted to help, not fight. Help, he did for the kid. Fight, he didn't. Sans chuckled darkly internally. Papyrus was a true pacifist if there ever was one. And though Sans admired his brother for it, he also feared for his brother's safety seeing as he even refused to fight for his own wellbeing.

Sans rubbed his brother's spine. "Pap, I'm proud of you for standing up for that kid. You did the right thing. But you need to fight back if they're going to hurt you. You could've been easily killed by those kids."

Papyrus growled slightly. "I refuse to fight back."

Sans looked to the younger skeleton with confusion. "And why is that?"

Papyrus's fingers continued to lace around the blanket that was in between his fingertips. "They can be good if they try hard enough. If they really want to be…they _can_ be good. I don't want to hurt _anyone_ no matter what they do to me."

Sans's arm tensed around his brother's shoulders. _If he was this age when Dad was still alive, Papyrus wouldn't hurt him even if he really should._ Speaking of…Sans looked to the top of Papyrus's bookcase where the photo of the three usually sat. Sans was shocked.

It was gone.

"Pap," He said in disbelief, "where's the photo of us with Dad?"

Papyrus shrugged his shoulders causing Sans's arm to fall away from them. "Why should I care?" He asked with what sounded like a mix of hatred and defeat. "I don't know him or what he was like. To me…he's just a stranger."

Sans's heart broke. He just didn't want to tell his brother about the terrible things that their father did. He didn't want Papyrus to think of their father as just another stranger. "Pap, I-"

"Don't worry about it," Papyrus said as he stood and walked to his door. "If you don't think it's worth telling me about Dad then…" He sighed as he turned the doorknob so he could exit, "then maybe it isn't worth knowing." And with that, he left his room, scarf flipping from the draft that had invaded the house.

Sans sighed, placing his elbows on his knees, face buried in his hands. "Shit." He grumbled lowly.

OoOoOoO

 _"St…Stop! Please!" Sans pleaded as his father began to beat him, his bones chipping away allowing blood to emerge from the calcium. His father just scowled, the smell of beer evident on his physic defying breath._

 _"I won't, you worthless brat! You and your brother ruined my life!"_

 _"You ruined your own life!" Sans all but dared to say. This only caused his father to scowl harder before he got a nearby hammer. Sans's eye sockets widened as he backed up into the door of the front of the house. He began to shake, fear gripping at his throat._

 _The hammer was brought down upon his leg, shattering the bone completely. Sans always told himself not to scream and not to cry._

 _But as soon as the hammer had been brought down, he did both that night._

 _His father gripped him by the collar of his jacket before picking him up by the fabric, choking Sans a bit. W. D. Gaster smirked evilly before opening the front door. "You can sleep outside tonight along with the garbage!" He yelled as he threw the eight-year-old skeleton out into the snow. He yelped when the snow hit his deep wounds and shattered leg._

 _His father just laughed before slamming the door shut and locking it. Sans allowed a few sobs to escape from his mouth. Now here he was, alone, freezing and injured. He was completely vulnerable to whatever that was thrown at him._

 _"Hey!" A young, feminine voice yelled as her steps could be heard crunching in the snow. "Stop crying like a-" She wanted to continue, but she couldn't when she noticed the boy's leg. "Hey," She said, much more gentle than she had spoken earlier, "what's wrong? What happened to your leg?"_

 _Sans looked up to the girl. She was a fish monster with a red ponytail. Her teeth were sharp, and her amber eyes shone from the reflection of the snow. She looked to be the same age as him; if not, a little younger._

 _"Why do you care?" He asked with a swipe at his eyes to rid himself of his tears._

 _Her eyes grew a bit harder. "Fine!" She yelled. "Then I'll leave!" She turned on her heel and took a few steps. She expected to just leave like the hothead she was, but mid step…she stopped. She stopped and looked back at the boy._

 _The boy looked to her with dead eyes. Almost as if he didn't care if he froze outside. She turned back towards him and walked back to him. "Where's your parents?"_

 _He tensed. He shook his head. "You don't want to know anything about my parents." His mother wasn't bad…she was just…dead._

 _Her eyes softened slightly. "Um…" She said, her right hand reaching to the back of her head, "I might know someone who can fix your leg. Do you want me to go get her?"_

 _Sans looked to the girl. "Only if you want to get her."_

 _The girl nodded before beginning to leave to retrieve her friend. "Wait!" Sans called out. She looked back to the boy. "What's your name?"_

 _She smiled at him slightly, her sharp teeth showing. "Undyne."_

 _He smiled slightly back. "I'm Sans." She nodded before walking away. It maybe took fifteen minutes, but she eventually came back with another young girl who appeared to be a dinosaur or lizard monster. She had wire glasses and wore a white lab coat. Her parents must work as royal scientists as well, Sans thought._

 _The girl smiled nervously at Sans. "H-Hi, Sans. U-Undyne told me your name…i-i-if you were wondering. I…I'm Alphys. I…I can help you…i-if you let me."_

 _He smiled slightly at the shy monster. "I'll let you." She smiled nervously as she knelt in the snow next to Sans._

 _"C-Can I see your l-l-leg?" She asked. He nodded, trying to move the shattered appendage. He hissed in pain at the slight movement causing Alpyhs to jump slightly._

 _"I can't move it," He said gently. "It hurts too much." She nodded and moved herself towards his injured leg. She cringed when she saw it. His entire leg was almost completely shattered, pieces of bone sticking out here and there._

 _Undyne took a look at it as well. She too cringed. It wasn't a pretty sight. "Dang. How'd your leg get so…shattered?"_

 _He looked away from the two, his gaze now looking at a distant snow poff. "Another topic, please."_

 _Alphys nodded, adjusting her glasses. "I know a little healing magic that might work, but since I have to do it on your leg, there's a chance that it may cause changes to your growth."_

 _Sans shrugged. "As long as my leg doesn't hurt as bad as it does now." He said through clenched teeth. Alphys nodded before beginning the healing process._

OoOoOoO

Sans sighed.

"I'm just trying to protect him."

 **How am I doing? Let me know! Did you like it, love it, hate it? Let me know!**


	5. Breaking

**Warning! This chapter may be triggering! You have been warned! And I must say, things don't get any better from here. ~Flowey**

OoOoOoO

"I want Snowdrake." A kid said with a point of his finger towards said monster.

The other monster who was another kickball leader pointed to Ember. "I want Ember." He said. Ember glanced towards Papyrus, his head looking to his sneakers. She gave him a sad glance. He didn't notice her glance.

Monster by monster, each kid was picked for a team…until all that was left was Papyrus. And even when they saw the last little monster, the pretended not to and played their game. Papyrus stood there for a moment, hurt and disbelief plastered to his young face only to slump into that of a disappointed one.

He looked to the gym bench and sat on it. This wasn't the first time he had been overlooked for teams during gym class. The teachers weren't much help either. They never bothered to look at Papyrus or spare him a single glance. They just let the poor boy get bullied around.

He tried to stop allowing the tears fall from his eye sockets, but it didn't work. They came whether he wanted them to or not. And he most certainly did not.

Flowey looked to the boy with a mischievous smile. _A hurting soul,_ he thought. _I wonder what I can get him to do…_

 _**Hey, Papyrus**_ , Flowey's voice rang out. Papyrus sniffed gently before looking to the small flower that appeared at his side.

"What?" He asked.

 ** _Go to your backpack._**

Papyrus looked at the small flower questioningly. "Why?"

 ** _Just do it_** , Flowey growled out! Papyrus's eye sockets widened before he gave a subtle nod, his feet carrying him to the locker rooms where his backpack sat. As soon as he entered the room he walked to his black locker that contained his backpack.

"Now what?" He asked the little flower.

 ** _Open it._**

Not wanting to cause the flower to erupt again, Papyrus obeyed the flower's command. "What do I do now?"

 ** _Take out your scissors._**

Now Papyrus felt the need to question the little flower. "Why?" He asked with a squinted eye as if he had an eyebrow that was cocked. Flowey growled a bit louder, his teeth bared.

 ** _Just do it!_**

Almost immediately, Papyrus searched through his backpack for the demanded object until his finger bones found their way to the object. Once he had it, he looked to Flowey awaiting the next command.

Flowey smiled evilly. **_Now cut yourself._**

Papyrus's eye sockets widened as he violently shook his head. "Wh-What?! No! I…I can't do that!"

 ** _It hurts not having any friends, and being bullied all the time, right,_** Flowey asked? Papyrus looked to the smooth cement ground of the locker room. _Yes, it does,_ he thought, his finger bones opening and closing around the blade of the scissors. _It hurts a lot. **Cutting helps take away the pain.**_

Papyrus looked to the potted flower that sat on the wooden bench that surrounded the locker room on the bottom wall. "So you're telling me that cutting helps with the emotional pain by adding physical pain?"

Flowey smiled evilly. **_Yes. Finally, you understand something._**

Papyrus felt hurt invade his dark eyes. He looked to the blade of the scissors. Was Flowey right? Did it actually help relieve the pain? He looked back up to the small flower. "You're sure about this?" He asked. "That if I cut myself, it will take away the pain?"

Flowey nodded. **_That is correct._** Papyrus looked back down to the blade of the scissors then back up to Flowey. Maybe…

He looked back down to the blade with a small sigh and closed eye sockets. "Here goes nothing." Slowly and hesitantly, Papyrus digs the sharp blade of the scissors into some of the bone of his arm. He hissed a bit at first before chipping away pieces of the bone. He wanted to cry out by the time he was done…that was until he saw all of the gaps in his arm.

Blood came down a bit from his wounds. The sight didn't fill him with pain, but…joy. He smiled slightly. "W-Wow…" He said slightly before looking up to Flowey. "You…You're right! It does take away the pain!" Papyrus checked his HP just to be sure. Ninety out of one hundred. "Though, some of my HP went down."

 ** _That's normal_** , Flowey waved off. **_It'll come back when you eat lunch._** Papyrus froze at the word 'lunch'.

"But won't my wounds heal when I eat?" He asked.

Flowey shrugged. **_That depends on what you eat. Some foods just heal HP others heal wounds as well._**

"I don't want them to be healed. I like the way they look and feel." He said with a soft smile. Flowey grinned evilly at the boy.

 ** _As you should._**

OoOoOoO

Lunch came around and Papyrus looked to the food that sat on his plate. He looked to the potted flower that sat next to him on the table. "What heals wounds?" He asked the flower. The flower looked to the plate that contained a glamburger, spaghetti, and a cinnamon bun.

 ** _The cinnamon bund and glamburger both heal wounds. Spaghetti just brings up your health. The spaghetti is safe to eat_** , Flowey guided. Papyrus looked to Flowey with a slight smile.

"Thanks, Flowey. Maybe you're not as bad as I had once thought." Flowey watched the boy as he began to eat the spaghetti. He felt a slight pang at the sentence.

 **That…He…He doesn't think I'm bad? But…I…** Flowey decided to stop thinking about the matter. **So what?**

OoOoOoO

Papyrus looked though his closet. "If I'm going to continue to do this, I'm going to need to cover my arms so no one can see them." Flowey looked through the many clothes as well.

 ** _How about your red jacket?_**

Papyrus smiled towards Flowey as he reached for the red jacket that hung on a simple white hanger. He slipped the jacket on and zipped it up. He looked into the mirror that was attached to his closet door. "It looks nice." He told no one in particular.

Flowey chuckled nervously. **_Yeah._**

Papyrus pulled at the black hoodie strings. Suddenly his hands fell to his sides. "Are you sure it's ok to continue to do this? What if I go too far?"

Flowey looked to the young skeleton. He could tell him to continue and risk his life, or to stop and possibly fix his mistake. Flowey nodded. **_It's ok. It's not dangerous. You'll be fine._**

"But what if I get my HP down too low?"

 ** _Then monitor it closely, you moron_** , Flowey snapped! Papyrus's dark eye sockets fell to the ground. He looked up to Flowey, a small yet sad smile graced upon his face.

"Got it. I'll watch my health." He said, his hands falling into the pockets that the jacket provided. Flowey sighed. This kid did have it bad at school. In fact, he had just had an encounter with the other kids before school had been dismissed.

 _"Leave me alone." Papyrus said quietly as two other monsters surrounded him._

 _The two monsters laughed at his plead. "Why should we?" One asked with a scoff._

 _"Because it would be the nice thing to do." Papyrus whispered. The two, in turn, began to laugh loudly causing students to become curious as to what was happening. Slowly, other students began to surround around Papyrus and the two bullies._

 _"Why would anyone be nice to a worthless loser like you?" The other bully asked with an evil smirk. Papyrus felt himself whimper slightly._

 _The other bully pushed Papyrus back. "What're you going to do?" He asked as he continued to push Papyrus backward. "What're you going to do about it, huh? What're you going to do?!"_

 _"Nothing." Papyrus finally answered. The bully smiled evilly._

 _"That's right! You're going to do nothing!" He yelled as he pushed Papyrus to the ground. Papyrus hit the ground hard with a loud, oof. Everyone began to laugh at the small skeleton. He hid his tearing up eye sockets behind his arm._

 _"St…Stop laughing at me. Please."_

 _This only caused them to laugh harder and louder. Papyrus tried to shrink in on himself, but he honestly couldn't get any smaller than he already was. A few kids began to kick at him, but Papyrus did nothing to stop them. He only let out the occasional plead to stop, but nothing seemed to work as far as his pacifist personality provided for him._

 _Ember looked at the kids nervously. She knew that this was wrong. She wanted them to stop. She wanted to scream at them to stop._

 _But she didn't._

 _Her popularity must have been more important._

 _Because all she did was stand there._

 _And watch._

Papyrus sighed at the memory. He lifted his red hoodie up so that his ribs could be seen. Various bruises glistened on them. As long as he didn't take off his shirt around anyone-which wasn't likely, anyways-no one would find out.

 _Just hide it,_ he thought with a smile that would have made anyone think that he lost his mind. _Just hide it and add to it._

OoOoOoO

Sans was walking home from work that day. He was really in no rush. Plus, he wanted to think by himself for a while. He really did have a full plate at hand…and one that _didn't_ involve ketchup.

He understood why Papyrus wanted to know about their father, but…Sans shuddered. Some of the memories were just too painful to look back upon. Endless needles injected into his bones. Endless pills shoved down his mouth. Wrists and ankles bound to lab tables. Burning sensations followed by numbness.

Papyrus's screams from his own injections and sets of medicines. The two weren't sick. No…just being tested on, seeing how Gaster had been too lazy to find _willing_ volunteers. Then again who _would_ be willing to do such a thing? Sans wouldn't have been if he had been given the option.

Sans shook his head as he felt a small amount of heat emerge from his eye. He had to calm down. Did he not tell Papyrus because it was _he himself_ that wasn't ready to bring up the topic? Perhaps. Either way, he didn't really want to talk about it.

His blue sneakers crunched against the white, glistening snow on the ground. Snowdin was always pretty cold, so most monsters who lived there had adapted by their immune systems growing stronger…that is…if you _had_ an immune system. Skeletons…they were pretty much based all throughout magic. How they ate, how they got ill (physically and mentally), how they breathed, how they felt pain and emotions; magic basically ruled throughout it all since they didn't have the correct structure for such things.

"N-No! Stop! L-Leave me alone! Please!" The voice didn't sound very old. Maybe the sound of a six or seven-year-old monster child. Sans's skull perked up, his hearing listening intently on the small child's voice.

"You escaped once. You won't escape again."

 _Again,_ Sans thought? _Then…could they be…_

Sans decided to follow the voices to the best of his abilities. When he finally reached the destination of the voices, he was quite shocked to find several teenagers surrounding a small monster child. He could feel his eye burning in anger and disgust. _How can they pick on a child that's barely the same height as their kneecaps?_

He looked to them all, hand blazing a blue fire ball of magic, his left eye _burning_ with anger. "I don't think you want to do that." He seethed out, his eyes squinted into unimaginable hatred and disgust. It looked so…out of character for the usually happy and laid back skeleton.

"And why not?!" A teen dared to ask before actually taking a look at the monster who threatened him. As soon as he saw what Sans looked like, his face melted into one of his own fear.

Sans chuckled darkly. "So you're the ones who hurt my brother. Heh, so…I'd like to say nice to meet ya…but it's really not all that of a joyous feeling," He said through his squinted eyes and scowl. "But, uh, hey, if you put the kid down, you may just escape on hell of a bad time."

The one holding the kid in the air looked to the others. They all nodded at him, and he put the child down. The kid took running. _Heh,_ Sans thought, _good thinking, kiddo._

"Oh, who am I kidding?" Sans asked through a dark and almost evil chuckle. "I think we all knew that no matter what you all did you were all still going to experience a very bad time."

The teenagers all looked at each other in fear as their surroundings faded away until they were all just floating in nothing but a pure abyss of blackness. Sans stood in front of them, a calm smile plastered to his face. To be honest, he was anything _but_ calm.

"It's a beautiful day outside," He told the teens, "birds are singing, flowers are blooming…on days like these, kids like you…" His eye flashed dangerously, fire literally burning out of his eye socket, "should be burning in hell!"

The teenagers were immediately filled with senses of dread.

They had every right to feel such a feeling.

Sans turned Aaron's soul blue before throwing him around the room, Aaron's loud screams not seeming to echo throughout the void. Sans checked Aaron's HP, making sure he had at least one health left.

When he saw that there was more than just one, he smiled evilly. He created a cage of bones around Aaron, poisoning him in the process. He smiled, his eyes still holding their look of hatred and anger. "S-Stop! Please! Don't hurt him! Don't hurt any of us!"

 _They can be good if they try hard enough._

Sans scowls at the sound of his baby brother's voice ringing in his skull. _They deserve this,_ he thought bitterly. _They caused pain first. I'm just returning the favor._

He moved away from Aaron, now looking at Gyftrot. He smiled at the monster. "Do you want to have a bad time?" He asked with an evil smile plastered to his face.

 _If they really want to be…they can be good._

 _Shut up,_ Sans yelled internally! Why did his baby brother have to play the role of his conscience right now? Gyftrot shook their head.

"H-Hey," The stuttered, backing away slowly, "I…I don't want _any_ trouble!" Sans chuckled deeply at the bully's excuse.

 _Of course they don't,_ he thought severely. _That's why they left my brother for the dead._ "Well, you most certainly found it." Sans whispered to them.

 _I don't want to hurt anyone._

Sans growled, his eye sockets shutting, and his attacks stopping. He whirled around away from all of the teenagers.

 _No matter what they do to me._

Slowly, the black void began to disappear, white snow taking place instead. He breathed heavily, his left eye still burning a bright blue flame. He whirled around to face the teens once more.

"Leave!" He seethed at them. "Leave and never even _look_ at my brother! Capiche?!" They all nodded at him frantically. Sans let out an exasperated sigh before looking away from them once more. "Now leave before I change my mind!"

And that's exactly what they did.

OoOoOoO

"Hey, squirt!" Undyne laughed as she entered Sans and Papyrus's home. Papyrus smiled up at Undyne, showing off his one missing tooth.

"Hi, Undyne!" Papyrus greeted as he ran up to her. The two, to Sans's relief, grew to be great friends. Undyne had even taught Papyrus a few attacks. Papyrus was always up for a new sparring lesson with the female fish monster. Sans smiled at the two. How long ago had it been that Papyrus had last seen Undyne?

What…maybe…two months?

But being the head of the Royal Guard really gave the girl a lot of jobs to get done. She always managed to get every single one of them done. She laughed lightly as she placed a hand on top of the small skeleton's skull. "How's school been?"

Papyrus didn't want to lie, but in this instant he had no other choice. He wasn't going to tell her about the bullies who bullied him mentally and physically. It was none of her concern anyway. "School's fine. I'm getting good grades." He smiled.

She smiled back. "That's good. You going to take after your brother and work in a lab?"

Papyrus immediately shook his skull. Undyne knew what he wanted to do, and she loved to tease him and say that he wanted to be locked away in a lab all day. "Undyne! You know what I want to be! I want to be part of the Royal Guard like you! I want to make puzzles that capture humans! I want to help get everyone out of the Underground like you do!" He told her. She shook her head with a smile.

"I know you do, squirt. I'm just teasing ya."

The mention of puzzles reminded Sans of an odd treasure he had come across that he wanted to give to Papyrus. He reached into the pocket of his hoodie, his finger bones gripping the small cube. "Hey, Pap, that reminds me. I got something for ya."

Papyrus looked to Sans. "What is it?" He asked curiously, tugging gently on his scarf. Sans let out a lazy smile before taking the small cube out of his pocket. The cube had six different colors, one for each side. A red color, a blue color, a white color, a yellow color, a green color, and an orange color.

"It looks like some kind of puzzle," Sans told him as he handed the ten-year-old the cube. "I think you're supposed to get each color to be on the same side. Y'know, orange on one side, blue on another."

Papyrus smiled ecstatically before hugging his brother around the waist. "Thank you, thank you, thank you!" He yelled.

Sans shrugged. "Eh, no problem. Say, why don't you go and try to solve it in your room while I speak with Undyne for a moment, huh?"

Papyrus nodded once before running up the stairs and into his room. Sans chuckled a little. "Heh, little rascal."

"So," Undyne said as she sat at their kitchen table, "you have something you need to talk to me about?"

Sans sighed as he took a seat across from her. "Yeah," He breathed out, his lazy smile turning into a bit more serious frown. "I'm…having some trouble with Papyrus. I, uh, he wants me to tell him about our father, but…I don't know if I can tell him yet."

Undyne stiffened a bit. She had encountered Gaster a few times, and she had heard the stories that Sans had told her. She remembered the first time she had seen Sans. Him shivering in the cold, leg all busted up, tears freezing to his cheekbones. He never, at the time, did tell what happened to his leg. He always kept dodging the question like he was dodging attacks. She sighed.

"Well, I don't know if by that you mean, you don't think he's old enough to know, or if you just can't look back on the memories, but…either way…you're going to _have_ to tell him at some time."

Sans covered his face with his hands. "I know," Came out his muffled reply. "I just don't know how, or when, but…he's so upset by not knowing. I just…I can't…I don't…" Sans sighed and allowed his hands to fall from his face. "He's acting strange, too. He's just…he's not as happy as he used to be. He even took down the picture of Dad, himself, and I. He told me that if I didn't think it was worth telling him about Dad, then maybe Dad wasn't worth knowing. I feel like I've messed him up bad."

Undyne looked anywhere but at Sans. She hated seeing him look so upset. It wasn't part of his personality. "Sans, I…even if it's hard for you to go back to…I think he's ready to know. If he wasn't he wouldn't be asking to know."

Sans sighed and rubbed his hands together. _Maybe…_ he thought.

 _"Stop please!"_

He growled lightly.

 _"Waaaahhhhh!"_

The wail was so small and innocent. Maybe that's why it scarred him.

 _"You both are nothing more but science experiments!"_

"Sans, are you ok?"

Sans shook his head, his thoughts leaving his head. He hadn't realized that he was shaking or staring off into space. He groaned. "Yeah, fishstick, I'm fine. I'll…um…tell him later…but I _will_ tell him!"

Undyne nodded once. "Just…don't push yourself over your mental stability, Sans."

Sans chuckled darkly. "Yeah," He told her. "I know."

"Sans!" Came the high pitched voice of Sans's little brother. Papyrus zoomed into the kitchen, cube in hand. "I solved it, Sans! Look!" He exclaimed. Sans looked to the small cube in Papyrus's hand. Sure enough, the small puzzle was solved.

Sans smiled at his brother. "Great job, Pap. I knew you would solve it. Maybe you can make different patterns with it." Papyrus nodded vigorously before running back to his room to see what else he could do with the small cube.

As soon as he left, Sans let his smile fall again. He looked to Undyne. "He was nice at one point, though, right?"

Sans nodded. "Yeah, before Pap was born." Sans shivered. He didn't like thinking about Gaster _at all._

 _They can be good if they hard enough._

Sans shook his head.

 **How am I doing? Let me know! I love getting your guys' reviews! They tell me what I need to improve on or if I'm doing fine! Please review! Did you like it, love it, hate it? Let me know!**


	6. Worse

**Huh? You're back? Do you just like seeing people suffer? Is that it? You're just like me, aren't you?! Anyways, once again, this may be triggering. Things get pretty heavy, so if you're sensitive to that sort of thing, then I would recommend closing the story. You have been warned. ~Flowey**

 **OoOoOoO**

Papyrus twisted the cubes colors, not really monitoring where they went. His eyes were looking at the small cube, but his mind was elsewhere. _Did Dad love me,_ he wondered? _What about Mom? Did she?_

"Hey, Flowey?" Papyrus asked, his head turning towards the small potted flower on his study desk.

 ** _Hm_** , Flowey hummed in acknowledgement?

"Where's your family?" Papyrus asked, his eyes going back to the cube along with his finger actions. Flowey was taken aback by the question. In all of his years searching for people to toy around with…none of them had asked him a single question like that.

 ** _Pardon?_**

"Well," Papyrus said, his eyes appearing tired as well as his tone, "you're alive, right? So you must have some sort of parents. Where are they? Are they flowers like you?"

Flowey looked at the small skeleton in shock for a moment before looking away. He didn't like to speak about his family. He couldn't even feel love towards them anymore…but…he could kind of relate to Papyrus in a sense. Papyrus couldn't really feel love about his parents because he didn't know them. Flowey…he just couldn't feel _love_.

The familiar feeling of being able to connect someone made him think of…he shook his head. **They're gone** , he thought. **Just don't think about them.**

"Do you know your parents?" Papyrus asked, ripping Flowey out of his thoughts.

 ** _O-Of course I do_** , Flowey answered without even realizing it!

"Then what are they like? Are they flowers like yourself?" Papyrus asked, placing the cube down and lying his head against his crossed arms.

Flowey sighed. **_I refuse to talk about them. Just don't worry about what my life was or is like._**

Papyrus nodded his head in his arms. He then buried his face into the sheets of his bed. This seemed very out of the ordinary to Flowey. Sure, the kid wasn't exactly his happy go lucky self anymore, but…to just see him look like this seemed like something was _terribly_ wrong. He phased through the table and popped back up on Papyrus's bed.

 ** _Hey_** , he asked, **_what's wrong?_**

Papyrus never allowed his face to leave the bedding. His hand gripped a little bit of it, but he never lifted his face. "I just…I'm scared to go back to school. I…I don't want to keep getting bullied. I…I don't want to keep getting beat up or called names. It hurts. It hurts so bad."

Flowey looked to the breaking boy. **I'm not supposed to care** , he reminded himself. **So why does looking at him like this hurt?**

He chuckled nervously. **_Well, whenever you feel like this, you can just chip away another piece of bone._**

Papyrus moved his head over to glance at the small flower he dared to call his closest friend. He gave a weak smile towards the high pitched boy. "You're right, Flowey." He pushed himself up off of his bed and looked under his bed. He pulled out a small box that contained a small knife that he had snuck from the kitchen.

He opened the box and took out the knife, holding it by the small black handle, the silver blade shining from the ceiling light. He angled the blade at one of his bones and began to chip away at the bone, monitoring his health carefully.

Flowey watched Papyrus feeling a sense of…guilt? How was that even possible? He wasn't supposed to feel _anything._ Why did he feel guilty?

OoOoOoO

"Daddy?" A small voice rang out. Grillby looked behind him to find his small daughter looking up at him. He cocked one of his metaphorical eyebrows.

"Ember, what are you still doing up? It's past your bedtime," He watched as she shuffled slightly, her face holding an expression of nervousness. He became a bit concerned at his normally calm daughter's expression. "Ember, what is wrong?"

She took in a deep breath, her eyes tearing up with whatever substance they could considering if they were normal tears, they would distinguish some of her fire. Grillby, upon seeing this, knelt in front of the small child and placed a gentle hand on her back. "Ember, what's wrong?"

She took in a deep and shaky breath. "D-D-Daddy," She said shakily, "th-there's a kid at school who's getting bullied bad. I…I wanna help him…but I don't know how. What do I do?"

Grillby's eyebrows furrowed in concern. "How would bad come?"

Ember wiped at her eyes. "Th-They call him names, and they hit him and kick him. He sits alone at lunch, but I don't think he eats much. Some kid dumped his lunch tray on him. I…I want to help, but I don't know how."

Grillby's face bore a look of worry. "Ember, can you tell me their name? This sounds serious."

Ember shook her head causing a slight suspicion to flicker into Grillby's emotions. "Why can't you?"

"What if the bullies come after me, too, if I tell? I want to help, but I don't want to be bullied either."

Grillby shook his head. Those bullies would have to be thick if they thought they were going to lie a single hand on his daughter. But the child who was already getting bullied…how were their parents reacting? Did they tell them? "As long as I'm here, no one will ever lie a single hand on you. Ember, I really need you to tell me who is getting bullied."

Ember shook her head. "I can't."

Grillby sighed. His daughter wasn't stupid. Not at all. So if he taught her what she should do if she sees someone bullied she would certainly do what was taught. "Fine. But, Ember, if you see this kid being bullied, whether emotional or physical, you need to stick up for them. If it's emotional, just tell them to stop. If it's physical, you need to get an adult. But do not let it continue. Just think how the child is feeling. I'll bet they do not feel good about themselves."

Ember shook her head. "No," She replied, "they don't."

Grillby gave his daughter a hug. "Now you know what to do to help."

OoOoOoO

The note trembled in Papyrus's grip. He couldn't help but shake. He shook his head in a no fashion. _Th-They wouldn't_ , he thought fearfully. Flowey looked at the note over Papyrus's shoulder. He even felt a bit nervous.

There was that word again.

Felt.

Feel.

He can't feel.

So why was he?

"Th-They're joking, r-r-right, Flowey?" Papyrus asked shakily, fear evident in his tone. Flowey looked at the note himself.

 ** _I don't know._**

"Th-They have to be! I…I mean, they're mean, but…they never take it this far!"

 ** _Yet._**

"You're not helping!" Papyrus shouted at the small flower sitting on the bench in the locker room.

Flowey shrugged. **_I'm not here to help._**

"Then why are you here?" Papyrus asked. It wasn't in a rude or defensive way. It was a legitimate question.

Flowey stumbled upon his words looking for a correct set of them…but he didn't have the time to. The locker room door opened revealing four bullies. Papyrus's eye sockets widened. "P…Please don't hurt me!" He shouted at the four bullies.

The bullies just grinned in response, one of them cracking their knuckles causing Papyrus to wince. "The more you cooperate, the faster it will be over." One of them flashed an evil smile towards Papyrus. Papyrus backed up until his back hit the wall. His eye sockets widened as they came closer to him.

"D-Don't hurt me! Please!"

"Fight back then." One of the bullies said with a shrug of their shoulders and an evil smile lit on their face. Papyrus shook his head.

"N-No!" He yelled. "I won't!"

The kid just shrugged once more sending smiles to his friends. "Then I guess that just means more fun for us, doesn't it?"

Papyrus trembled in his spot. He shook his head. "Please don't," He pleaded pitifully. He smiled nervously as the bullies neared him. "We…We can be friends if you guys want to! You don't have to keep hurting me anymore! I'll…I'll be your guys' friend!"

The head bully smile maliciously. "Well," He said dangerously, "you said we could be friends if _we_ wanted to. Well, guess what, loser?" He asked as he cracked his knuckles causing Papyrus to wince. "We don't _want_ to be your friend. In fact," The bully drew back his fist before throwing it at Papyrus's mouth, "nobody wants to be your friend!"

Papyrus gasped in pain as his skull hit against one of the lockers and his mouth began to bleed. Instinctively, he threw a hand up to his mouth to protect it. This only made his tormentors laugh in sick hilarity. Papyrus's eye sockets held an expression of fear, metaphorical eyebrows scrunched in dread.

The second bully gave a smile similar to a sneer. "Did that hurt?" He asked as he came closer to Papyrus. He brought his foot back before kicking Papyrus in the ribs. Papyrus yelped at the pain that coursed through his being, his soul beginning to crack. It was almost as if he could feel his very soul crack for itself. _Don't break,_ he told himself inwardly. _Don't break! You're stronger than this! S-Sans always told me that I was great! The…The great Papyrus could never let something as simple as bullying get to him!_

"Do you still think someone wants to be your friend?" The second bully asked with a nefarious smile on his face. "Because I can assure you that _nobody_ does!"

Papyrus began to shake slightly. The third bully kicked his legs underneath Papyrus's causing said skeleton to fall to the ground. He gasped in pain and threw his hand to the back of his skull. He squinted an eye socket in pain while the other stayed wide open.

"Why?" He asked painfully, his left hand resting on the side of his head, and his right hand resting on the floor next to him. "Why are you doing this to me? What did I ever do to you?"

The fourth bully just threw his head back with laughter. "Don't you get it?" He asked in such amusement that it was sickening. He picked the boy up by the neck of his jacket and stared into his dark eyes. His face still held a smile. Papyrus was wondering if that note meant anything for this moment. If what the note said was going to transpire was going to happen now. Now that his face was so close to the other bully's, he could smell some of the breakfast that the other child had had this morning. He could feel the heat of his breath against his cheekbones. He wanted to cry out for help, but who would help him? Sans wasn't here, and he couldn't tell Sans, anyways. Not if he wanted to continue the harming he did to himself.

"You did nothing," He said calmly. So calm that it was frightening. The bully smiled before throwing Papyrus down onto the ground. "You're just a disgrace to life." The four bullies left the locker room, laughter dripping off of all of their voices.

"Some loser."

"What an idiot."

"I hope he dies."

"He's completely worthless."

"Sans would be happy if he died."

 _Click._

In that instant, Papyrus knew that they were gone. He pressed his hands against the cold concrete floor that now bore a few drops of his red blood.

His precious, red blood.

He pushed himself up into a sitting position, his legs bent beside him. He had a smile on his face as tears fell from his eye sockets. He sniffed lightly. Flowey looked at the small skeleton in what was…fear? Why did he feel this?

 ** _Pa-Papyrus_** , he asked, nervousness dripping from his voice? **_Papyrus, are you alright?_**

Papyrus couldn't help the bitter chuckle that broke through his mouth. It sounded so…unlike him. So…different…so…not Papyrus. "Yeah," He said calmly. Way too calm for the event that had just occurred. "Yeah. I'm just fine," He reached for his backpack and took out his pencil pouch, his bony fingers latching around his scissors. "Besides," He said as he angled the blade just so, "I have my coping device."

Flowey watched as pieces of bone fell to the floor as the blade of the scissors dug into Papyrus's bony arms. He shuddered a bit. **Why do you care** , he asked himself? **You're just doing this because you _have_ to. I can just reset and everything will go back to normal. **Flowey summoned his reset button and pressed the reset button.

 _Are you sure you want to reset?_

 _Yes._

 _No._

His options popped up to do what he desired to do. He smiled as he hit the reset button.

1…

2…

3…

Wait…

 **Why isn't this working** , he asked with a frown. Over and over again, he pressed the reset button only for the same thing to happen over and over again.

Nothing.

 **Why the hell-**

That's when Flowey realized it.

Someone's determination was greater than his own.

Their determination to stay…even though they didn't want to.

Their determination to keep hurting.

Yes.

Papyrus was jamming Flowey's power.

All because he was determined to hurt himself.

Flowey shuddered as he allowed his eyes to fall to the note Papyrus had been given. It only bore five words on it.

 _We're going to kill you._

OoOoOoO

Ember held her lunch tray in her flaming hands. She looked to the table that sat all of her friends, then she looked to the table where Papyrus sat at. The poor boy sat alone, his utensils playing with the food in front of him, his left elbow planted to the table while he cradled his left cheek bone in his left hand. He looked downright miserable.

She sighed before taking in a deep breath. She walked past her friends and walked up to Papyrus, setting her tray down next to him. Papyrus allowed his eyes to look up when he noticed a second tray. When he noticed the other monster was Ember, he grew a bit apprehensive. "Y-You're not going to hurt me like the others, are you?"

Ember's eyes softened at the innocent question. She shook her head as she sat down next to him. "No," She told him, "I'm not going to hurt you."

He sighed sadly before looking at her table of friends. He watched as the monsters exchanged gossip through whispers. He shook his head. "You can't sit here. You're going to get made fun of. That's one of the last things I want to happen to _anyone._ "

She looked back to her friends quickly, but not for long. She then returned her gaze back towards Papyrus. She let out a sympathetic smile. "They can say whatever they want."

Papyrus looked at the girl with a shocked look before looking down at his legs. "If this was a prank, you can stop. I don't think it's funny unlike the other kids."

Ember could feel her heart break at the thought. "It's…It's not a prank. I'm here because I want to be."

Papyrus looked back down at his food, his fork playing with the odd substance that was passed off as food. He sighed before placing the fork down and standing, his tray in his hands and on its way to the trash. "Thanks, but I…how do I…can I trust you? You're popular. Why would you want to sit next to a loser like me?" He asked crestfallenly.

Ember's eyes creased with worry as she stood and took his tray from him, setting it back down on the table. "You can trust me," She told the skeleton monster. She gave him a gentle smile. "C'mon. You've barely eaten anything."

Papyrus looked at her. Part of him wanted to sit down with her and eat what he could without his wounds healing up, but…another part of himself told him that she was going to hurt him like all of the other kids. "I…I'm really not that hungry. I…I'm a skeleton anyways. I guess I just don't have the stomach right now for anything." Papyrus said without realizing he had made a pun.

Ember giggled and Papyrus gave her a confused look. "What's so funny?"

"You! You just made a pun!" She giggled. He looked at her.

"Did I really? Dang it. I'm turning into my brother." He said with a slight smile on his face.

Ember smiled. "Your brother's really funny. It's always awesome to see you guys at my dad's diner. You guys always bring life to it."

Papyrus chuckled lightly. "I'm sure Sans does. I, myself, am not much of a comedian. In fact, I dislike my brother's puns greatly. At home he makes them all the time."

Ember sat down at the lunch room table. "You're lucky," She told the skeleton, "to have a brother who'd do anything for you. I'm an only child."

Papyrus sat down next to Ember, his lunch tray completely forgotten about. "Yeah, Sans is pretty awesome. I mean, he's put up with me for ten years now. No one's ever beaten that record."

"What about your parents?" Ember asked with a metaphorical eyebrow cocked. Papyrus's smile almost instantly faded at the mention of his parents causing Ember to frown in confusion. "Hey, what's wrong? Did I say something?"

Papyrus looked back up at her and tried to smile, but it looked more like a grimace than anything. "My…uh…my parents are…dead."

Ember's eyes widened in guilt. "Oh," She said sympathetically. "I'm sorry," Her eyes casted downwards towards the table. "If it…uh…helps at all…my mom's not alive anymore either."

Papyrus looked at her sympathetically. "I'm sorry."

Ember smiled back at Papyrus painfully. "It's ok. She was so cool. She always sang to me at bedtime and told me stories. I will always have her memories with me," Ember pushed her glasses back up on the ridge of her nose. "What were your parents like?"

Papyrus looked back down at the table silently. "I…uh…I don't know. I…I never really met either of them. They both died when I was just a baby bones." Papyrus stood back up, tray in hand. He began to walk to the trashcan.

Ember's eyes shot up when she noticed him move. "H-Hey!" She called out to him. "You…You didn't eat anything! I…I'm sorry for bringing up such a touchy topic!"

Papyrus looked back at Ember, a painful smile lined up on his face. He shrugged. "It's fine. I wasn't hungry anyways." And with that he dumped his lunch in the trash before continuing on to class.

OoOoOoO

Sans walked into Grillby's, the time on the clock on the wall reading 7:01pm. Sans had called Papyrus and told him that he was just going to pick something up for the both of them, Sans being too tired to cook anything tonight, though Papyrus did seem interested on trying to cook on his own.

Sans couldn't stop the simple eye roll that came with his lazy smile at the thought. The kid had always been so full of energy. Or…at least he _had_ been. Lately, Sans noticed Papyrus was a bit slower and just not as excited about things he normally was.

Why his brother was acting so strange was beyond the older skeleton, but he planned on asking tonight.

"Hello, Sans," Grillby greeted as Sans stood at the bar. "Will it be the usual?"

Sans flashed his signature lazy smile at the flame monster with a small nod. "And Pap's usual as well, please."

Grillby gave a slight nod before going to the kitchen to prepare the food. Ember peeked her head outside of the fire exit that lead to her home before her eyes settled on the older skeleton. She looked around the bar, searching for her father. When she realized that he wasn't there, the small flame monster walked up to the lazy skeleton.

"Sans." She called out to the skeleton. Sans's eyes wandered to the small girl, and he flashed the child his lazy smile as well.

"Hey, Ember. What's up?" He asked the small child. The barefoot ten-year-old ran up to where Sans stood, her feet skidding to a halt when she reached the Skeleton. She opened her mouth to say what she wanted to, but no words came out. She looked to the ground. _You have to tell him_ , she told herself. _This is getting way out of hand._

She gripped the corner of her pink dress between her flaming fingers, looking for the correct words to say. "I, uh…" She began nervously, "I think that there's something wrong with Papyrus."

This caused the skeleton's eye sockets to widen in confusion and question. Sans cocked a metaphorical eyebrow at the child. "What makes you think that? What's wrong?"

Ember continued to twirl the corner of her dress between her fingers. Her shoulders were hunched in a tensed fashion while her eyes were downcast to the fireproof wood that Grillby had installed. She had heard the screams that came from the locker room. But she had been too terrified to voice it to the teachers. Should she tell Sans? Maybe he could help the small skeleton.

She took in a deep, shaky breath. "Pa…Papyrus is…he's…well he's…" Ember felt tears peek into her eyes. She finally allowed her eyes to look up into Sans's. Sans gasped when he saw the lava like tears that flowed from her eyes. "Papyrus is being bullied. And it's real bad."

Sans's eye sockets immediately held deep concern for his baby brother. Sans placed gentle yet firm hands on Ember's flaming shoulders. The fire that the girl was made out of didn't burn him like most would expect. Not since she could control her fire. "How would bad come?"

Ember let out a tiny sob. Papyrus's screams echoed throughout her ears. Her vision was blocked by the sight of his curled up body crying and bleeding. Her memory jammed with Papyrus refusing to eat any food that was given to him that week.

She took in another shaky breath. "K-Kids…th-they…they kick him…a-a-and punch him. He…He bleeds and screams…a-a-and he cries. Th-They tell him that they wish he was dead. Th…They tell him that you," She pointed to the eighteen-year-old skeleton, "would be happier if he was dead."

Sans shook his head, his eye sockets wide. He was terrified. What was Papyrus thinking about this? Did he believe it? Did he think that the world would be better if he was dead? That _he_ would be better if he was dead?

Sans took his trembling hands off of Ember before turning and dashing for the door. He had to get to Papyrus! If Papyrus truly believed all of these horrid things, he could…

No! He'd never! He was too innocent to think like that! He'd never hurt…he'd never kill…he'd never…

The racing thoughts only made Sans run faster than before. He didn't bother to backpedal when his sneaker fell off of his foot leaving him running in a single sneaker and sock. He ignored the burning cold that penetrated through his now numb foot. That didn't matter. Right now his brother could be…

No!

He wouldn't!

But pain makes you do things…

No!

He…He wouldn't!

He…He couldn't!

Sans ran faster and faster, his speed picking up with each new step he took. He burst through the front door of his house, the door not locked. That was the first bad sign. Papyrus _always_ locked the door when Sans wasn't home with him. Sans's white pupils darted around the house. "Papyrus!" He yelled, hands cupped around his mouth as if they were a megaphone. He could feel his soul drop when his call wasn't answered.

"Papyrus!" He yelled louder as he ran up the stairs and up to his brother's room. He threw the door open, his eyes darting around the room. "Papyrus!" He yelled again, throwing his closet door open to see if he was hiding in there.

He wasn't.

Sans could feel a sense of dread wash over him. "Where the fuck are you, Papyrus?! If this is some sort of joke, you got me real good! Come out!" That's when he noticed a small piece of paper lying on Papyrus's study desk. Sans could hardly control his breathing. He went over to the desk to see what the paper was, praying that it was just homework.

He picked the piece of paper up in his hands, eyes scanning over the words. His white pupils left his eyes, his left eye firing up into its blue color emitting flames. He began to sweat, tears leaking from his eye sockets. "Shit." He whispered before teleporting away.

Teleporting to any place that wasn't home.

The note falling to the floor.

 **Hey, guys! It's Fang here (FanGirlFreak16) and I just wanted to say, thanks for all of the feedback! I'm having a lot of fun writing this story, and I'm only continuing it because you guys seem to like it. You guys help me get through every struggle, and I just wanted to thank you for that! You guys are amazing! And since this story is kind of on the topic already, I wanted to tell you guys that if any of you are struggling with depression/self harm/suicidal thoughts/suicide, I want you guys to know that you can always talk to me! I'm just a PM away! Suicide is a permanent solution to a temporary problem. Also, this is not spoilers if any of you guys were wondering. But seriously, you can always talk to me!**


	7. Broken

**Again? Seriously? What's with you and watching people suffer?! At least I'm strong enough to do it and not just sit around and watch it happen. Anyways, again, this may be triggering. If you are sensitive to self-harm and suicide, click out of the story now. I've warned you. ~Flowey**

Papyrus looked to all of the kids at school nervously. He stood next to his locker that stood in the hallway. His boney fingers fumbled to undo the combination on his lock.

 ** _Hurry_** , Flowey warned. **_You know that they'll find you soon._**

Papyrus just nodded in acknowledgement. His fingers twisted and turned faster than he ever thought possible. He pulled at the lock.

Once.

Twice.

Thrice.

"Come on, come on, come on!" He whisper yelled as he went to input his combination once again.

Too little…

…too late…

A hand threw itself at his locker menacingly. It hit the locker with a tremendous thud. Papyrus jumped before slowly turning to face the bully. Papyrus smiled nervously when he noticed the high schooler Aaron. He began to tremble slightly.

"H-Hey, A-Aaron. N-No hard feelings…b-b-back then…r-r-right?" Papyrus asked shakily.

Aaron smiled creepily, but Papyrus didn't bring up the courage to tell him to stop with the creepy face. "Your brother came after my buddies and I," He said in a dangerously calm voice. "He could've killed us-"

"He'd…He'd never kill anyone!" Papyrus objected, a small portion of anger for negativity being pointed towards his brother.

Aaron gripped Papyrus by the collar of his red jacket, holding the small skeleton very close to his face. "He would and almost did! Your brother is a murderer! And he wants you dead as well!"

"Stop telling me that!" Papyrus screamed at the high schooler in anger, eye sockets scrunched up in the unfamiliar emotion, orange tears falling from his eye sockets.

Aaron threw Papyrus against his locker, making Papyrus's skull buzz in pain. His hand flung up to hold the back of his skull, a slow hissing sound escaping from his mouth. Aaron smiled in obvious pleasure at the sign of pain coming from the younger student.

"Alright, let's finish what I started, shall I?" Aaron said as he neared the trembling skeleton once more. Suddenly, Aaron was shot back by a bright yellow light, surprising both the teenager and smaller child.

 ** _Leave him alone_** , came a menacing voice! Aaron slowly opened his eyes. He looked at his new surroundings. He had been shot back into the opposite lockers, now sitting on the floor at Papyrus's height.

"What the hell?" Aaron asked as his head darted around in confusion.

 ** _Leave now if you want to live!_**

Aaron looked to Papyrus with a hard glare. "I'm not done with you, yet, punk!" He stood back up, walking back towards Papyrus who cowered more. As Aaron threw a hand out to grab him by the collar, Papyrus flinched back, eyes closed due to him bracing himself.

He waited a minute.

Two minutes.

Three minutes.

He opened his eyes.

He looked around to find Aaron cowered in a corner. He looked at the teenager in confusion. He stood on shaky legs before approaching the teenager hesitantly. "A-Aaron? What's…What's wrong?" Papyrus asked, right hand squeezing his left apprehensively.

"G-Get away from me!" He yelled in fear, his head shooting up, fearful eyes meeting confused ones.

Papyrus cocked a metaphorical eyebrow. "What-"

"Get away from me!" Aaron yelled, standing up abruptly. He ran away from the small skeleton rather quickly, leaving Papyrus confused.

"What happened?" He asked himself.

 ** _Don't worry about it_** , Flowey told him as he popped up out of the ground.

Papyrus cocked a metaphorical eyebrow at the small flower. "What did you do?"

Flowey growled lowly. **_I did nothing. That punk got what was coming to him._**

Papyrus didn't really know what to say. He was happy that someone finally stood up for him…but he wasn't happy that someone ended up hurt because of it. "Whatever you did…thanks, Flowey, but…I don't want you to hurt people because they're hurting me. I don't want _anyone_ to end up hurt."

Flowey rolled his eyes, a frown on his face. **_You're really messed up, kid. Do you even know what those kids are doing to you?! You've been threatened with your life, and you continue to say that there's good in them! You really are an idiot!_**

Papyrus placed a gentle finger against Flowey's lips. He gave a gentle smile. "I know what I'm doing. I have this all figured out."

Flowey cocked an eyebrow, his face holding a look of irritation. **_What exactly do you have figured out?_**

Papyrus chuckled sadly before turning away from Flowey. "You'll see at the end of the week."

Flowey was about to ask what that meant, fear overriding his system…

…but the bell rang before he could get a single word out.

OoOoOoO

Papyrus could taste the coppery substance of blood coat the inside of his mouth as the bully's fist drew back away from his mouth. He placed his hand against his teeth.

How had he not lost one yet?

"We hate you!" One child laughed out.

"Go die!" Another one shouted through their laughter.

"It'd make everyone so much happier! Especially that stupid brother of yours!"

Papyrus could feel anger grow inside of him. He dared to stand from his sitting position on the ground. "He's not stupid!"

One of the kids looked at Papyrus with pure hatred before punching him in the face, causing him to fall back to his previous position. "Did we say you could get back up?!" He yelled.

Papyrus could feel orange tears run down his battered cheekbones. He quickly wiped them away before he was kicked in the ribs. He let out a yelp accidentally signifying his obvious pain. The kids just chuckled in amusement.

"Stop!" Papyrus yelled as all of them began to kick at him blindly, dust and dirt being kicked up into his face. "Please! Stop!"

Suddenly, they just stopped. He could hear shouts of protest and fear. He opened his eye sockets only to be welcomed by the clouding dirt and dust. He rubbed at his eye sockets to try and clear up his sight a bit. When he lowered his hands from his eye sockets, he found that only he and Flowey were left in the courtyard of the school.

"Wha-…I…how did…" Papyrus was befuddled. He stood on his shaky legs, eye sockets examining the area that used to hold at least six bullies. "Flowey…what did you do?"

Flowey just shrugged, a nonchalant look on his face. **_That doesn't matter. What matters is that you get home now before anyone else comes back._**

Papyrus scrunched his eye sockets in confusion. "What…What do you mean? What did you…I don't understand."

 ** _Just go_** , Flowey growled out! Papyrus jumped back a bit at the unsuspected growl, Flowey's voice sounding as if it had been split into three other voices other than his own. He gave a slight nod before walking off of the school grounds and back towards his home.

OoOoOoO

"Papyrus!" The shrill voice had caught him off guard as he had been continuing to trudge through the deep snow back towards his home. He turned his head to find Ember in her normal dress and black slip on shoes. Papyrus's eyes widened.

"Ember," He told her, "you need to get inside. It's way too cold for someone like you to be out here in such light attire."

She shook her head. "I don't care. Look at yourself, Papyrus!" She told him as she outstretched her hand to create emphasis. "Your teeth are stained red! Your cheekbones are all bruised! You have a huge bruise on your skull! How much longer do you intend on keeping this up! You're going to get yourself-"

He placed one of his fingers up to her lips to refrain from her saying anything more. "Sh," He told her. "You have to keep your voice quiet. I don't want anyone to know."

Ember groaned in exasperation, her eyes rolling, her feet shifting to another side, and her arms helping with the action, leaning to the side her feet took her. "That's just it!" She yelled, throwing her arms up into the air. "You _have_ to tell Sans!" She yelled, pointing a finger at the small skeleton. "And if _you_ don't, then _I_ will!" She yelled.

Papyrus's eye sockets widened. "You wouldn't!"

Ember squinted her eyes. "Try me. You have till the end of the week. If you don't tell him by then…then I will!" She crossed her arms, as she began to suddenly shake. Her arms began to turn into a black, coal color along with her ankles.

And it only began to spread. Papyrus gasped as he took Ember by the wrist before throwing her inside of her home and into the fireplace. Slowly, the fire monster began to regain some of her flames. "Thank you." She breathed out. He nodded gently.

"I told you." He told her in not a smart aleck way, but a statement.

"I know." She breathed out before stepping out of her fireplace, now burning fully and brightly.

Papyrus breathed out before adjusting his backpack back onto his shoulders. "Well…I better get home. Sans will flip if he notices that I'm not home." He turned to leave only to be pulled back by Ember. Her eyes looked into his seriously.

"Remember what I told you; the deadline."

He nodded. "I remember. I won't forget," And with that he stepped outside. He smiled horrifically. "Because a week is all I need."

OoOoOoO

 ** _You've turned insane_** , Flowey accused as Papyrus began to write the note. Papyrus shrugged.

"No, I haven't. People just opened my eyes."

He was so…nonchalant about it.

Granted, the rest of the week hadn't been too kind to Papyrus; kids beating him, cursing him, telling him to die, and several death threats. Flowey had walked down this path, but…he was able to reset.

Papyrus…

…wasn't…

This was permanent. No turning back.

 ** _You do realize that this is it, right? Once you walk off of the ledge…there's no going back. You know this, don't you?_**

Papyrus nodded. "I know," An orange tear fell past his cheekbone. "I've known all week."

Flowey furrowed his eyebrows. **_Wait…so you've-_**

"Planned this all week? Yes." Papyrus interrupted, his pencil continuing to make words on the ruled paper.

Flowey shook his head, disbelief gripping at him. **He…He _can't_ do this! He…He's such an idiot, but he's…he's all I have! He…He can't do this! **

**_I won't let you do this_** , Flowey yelled as he blocked all of the exit ways with vines. His doors, his windows, everything was blocked. Everything was impassible.

Papyrus looked to Flowey with weary eyes. "You realize that I can still pass through those? It'll just hurt and take away a heck of a lot of my HP."

Flowey was baffled. He wasn't supposed to know that! Flowey growled. **_You…You can't do this! I won't let you!_**

"How are you going to stop me?" Papyrus inquired as he put down his pencil and took off his jacket. Hotlands was hot enough. He wasn't going to need it. As for the cold of Snowdin…it didn't really matter. He wouldn't feel it for long.

 ** _I…I…well…I-_**

"You can't do anything," Papyrus told him, voice monotonous. "Not without hurting me. And even then…you couldn't _really_ stop me."

Flowey was baffled. This…This wasn't right!

 ** _You're…You're not Papyrus! You're nothing like him!_**

Papyrus took a step towards the door covered by vines. He shrugged and lulled his head towards his left shoulder, a small, bitter laugh erupting from his mouth. "So, are you going to unblock my way…or am I going to get hurt on my way down?"

Flowey grumbled to himself before looking at Papyrus's chipped up arms. They looked horrible. Gaping holes that were a bit red and irritated. How had they not shattered due to stress? Slowly, and reluctantly, Flowey allowed the vines to come undone. Papyrus smiled at the small flower. "Thanks, Flowey." And with that he walked out the door.

Flowey shook his head. **With any luck** , he thought to himself, **smiley trashbag will find him before he sees a pile of dust.**

OoOoOoO

Sans had always forbidden him from setting foot into Hotlands without him, but Papyrus thought that this would be the best and quickest way to end this.

 ** _This is a bad idea_** , Flowey told him as he popped up beside him while Papyrus's footsteps continued to echo throughout all of Hotland.

Papyrus just shrugged as he continued to walk until he saw the lava filled trench. He looked out over the ledge. "Guess this is it, huh?" He asked the small flower.

Flowey looked up at the skeleton boy. **_Not if you go back home and tell your brother what's wrong._**

Papyrus shook his head. "No," He told the flower. "I can't keep this us. Everyone…Everyone hates me. I can't keep going to school where kids chase me just to beat me up or insult me. I can't keep living a life where I don't know anything about my past. This is it." He took another look over the trench, his breath shaky.

Flowey looked nervous. **_You don't have to do this._**

"What other choice do I have?!" Papyrus asked in a shaky yell. He looked back to the lava.

 ** _If you wait for a few more sec-_**

"I'm not listening to you anymore!" Papyrus yelled from stress. He really didn't mean for it to come off as harsh as it had, but…he was in the middle of putting himself to death.

How could he not be stressed?

He stuck his foot out over the ledge.

He began to lean over.

"Pap, no!" A voice yelled out from behind him. Papyrus felt a tug on the back of his shirt, right at the collar. He felt himself being dragged back onto the ground, and arms immediately engulfed him into a tight embrace. "No, Papyrus! You…You can't do that!" The voice yelled.

For a while, Papyrus didn't even know who the person was. Once he became more aware of his surroundings, he noticed that the person was wearing a blue jacket. It had a greyish fur substance at the hood.

Kind of like…

"Sans?" Papyrus asked in a small voice.

He could hear violent sniffs and he could feel wet drops fall onto his bones. "I'm…I'm here, Papyrus. I…I'm here…and…and I'm _not_ letting go!" The voice sobbed. Papyrus allowed his eyes to look up into Sans's face. He was surprised to find blue tears falling from his brother's eyes, his left eye aflame with a blue color. His right eye, a black void.

Soon, Papyrus could feel tears of his own falling from his eye sockets, their orange color glowing bright. "L…Let me die, Sans! No one…No one likes me! E…Everyone h-h-hates me! Let me die!"

Sans shook his head and hugged Papyrus closer to his self. He placed his forehead against the top of Papyrus's skull. His blue tears dripped from his eye sockets and down Papyrus's skull. "I…I love you so much, little brother. Too much for words."

Papyrus stopped shaking for a moment. Wait…he had been…shaking? He just allowed his hands to grip Sans's jacket tighter. "You…You love me?"

Sans was shocked at the question, but he never let his grip falter on the younger skeleton that sat in his arms. "O…Of course I do. Wh…What makes you think that I don't?"

Papyrus looked to an empty space on the floor, a bitter chuckle coming from his mouth. "Guess you were right, Flowey."

Sans was bewildered. Who was he talking to? "Who are you talking to?"

Papyrus looked into Sans's eyes. "My friend, Flowey. He's right there." Papyrus pointed to the empty space. Sans's eyes followed his finger.

"Pap," He said in a fearful and worried tone. "Pap, there's no one there."

 **So sorry that it's been so long! I was at camp for a week and school starts tomorrow! Ah! It was nice knowing you summer! *salutes* Anyways, please review and tell me what you think! Did you like it, love it, hate it? Let me know! :)**


	8. HP

**Let's just get to the point. Some of the content may be triggering. If you are not comfortable with the topics of suicide or self harm, it would be best to click out of the story now. You have been warned. ~Flowey**

Sans stood outside of the lab, back leaning against the wall, arms crossed across his chest. His eye sockets were pupiless and his usually permanent smile was now turned down into a frown.

Physically, as far as he could see, his brother had been fine. But Sans wanted to get him checked out anyways. He wanted his HP to be checked out. And, no, not his Health Points. There were two HP's that monsters possessed. And where anyone could check someone's Health Points, only certified monsters could check the second HP.

Alphys had practically forced Sans out of the laboratory when he had asked her to check Papyrus for anything he had missed and his HP. And though Sans had expected to be forced out of the lab like he was, he was still persistent and tried his best to stay in with Papyrus. Though, his attempts were futile.

Alphys had probably been checking out Papyrus for fifteen minutes before Sans decided to call Undyne. He had taken the small cellphone out of his pocket and flipped it open. Upon finding Undyne's contact, he clicked on her and held the phone up to his ear slit.

 _Ring…_

 _Ring…_

 _Ring-_

"Sans," Came the irritated voice on the other side of the phone, "whatever this is, it better be good. It's almost midnight."

"Oh trust me," Sans said with a bitter and nervous laugh. "It's good enough."

As soon as she heard his change in voice, she knew something was up. "Sans, what's wrong?"

He took in a shaky breath, eye sockets looking to the door that separated himself from his brother and Alphys. "Undyne, I…I don't know what the hell I did wrong. I don't know how I didn't see or know, but…Grillby's daughter, Ember, told me that Papyrus was getting bullied pretty badly. I…I caught him before he…before he…" Sans could barely keep his breathing under control if at all. He could barely finish his sentence, honestly.

"Punk…Sans, calm down. Before he what?"

Sans placed his free hand on his forehead in a weak attempt to keep from tears even being noticeable in his eye sockets. "He…He was about to jump into the lava at Hotlands."

On the other end of the receiver was now silent. No one spoke, no one hardly breathed either. Undyne was pretty sure her face was turning a darker shade of blue that it already was. "He…He what?"

"You heard me." Sans could barely choke out.

Undyne shook her head, her legs hanging over the side of her bed looking as if she was about to stand and leave. She laughed nervously. "You…You can't be serious. This-This is Papyrus we're talking about. He'd-He'd never try and…k-k-kill himself. He…He could hardly kill a fly, for crying out loud!"

Sans curled his head closer to his chest, frown apparent on his face, eye sockets empty, and sweat dripping down his face. "Well…he did…and I was almost too late."

Undyne, not very good with comfort, tried her hardest, but her words hit deaf ears. No matter what she said, no matter what she did, Sans didn't cheer up in the slightest.

Not that she could blame him.

She asked him if she could come by their house in the morning. Sans said yes. Right now, Papyrus needed to be around the ones that loved him.

They talked for about ten minutes before hanging up. Twenty five minutes in waiting now. But it wouldn't be long. Another five minutes and out came Alphys, lab door lifting wide open.

As soon as she came out, Sans came up to her. "How's his HP? How is he?"

Alphys looked to Sans with sad eyes. "W-Well, his…his hormones are in b-b-balance. He did this out of e-emotional a-action. Hormones have no p-p-play in this," She paused looking away from the short skeleton's eye sockets, though the two were about the same height. "I…I found some self-inflicted cuts on his arms though."

If Sans's eye sockets could become any darker than they already were, they probably would have. "How do you know that they're self-inflicted and not from bullies?"

"The cuts are too s-s-straight and pre-precise. If…If they were from others they'd be at least a bit more j-j-jagged from him at least trying to dodge."

Sans sighed and allowed his eye sockets to look to the floor. "And his HP? Both of them, please."

Alphys nodded, adjusting the glasses that sat on her nose. "W-Well, I was a-able to heal his Health Points b-back up to one hundred. That wasn't the real concern. N-Now his H-H-HoPe…Sans, it's…it's so low. Too low. He's down to t-t-ten out of one hundred. If this gets any l-l-lower, he's going to be in critical condition. I suggest keeping a c-c-close eye on him, and e-even taking him out of s-s-school for a while."

Sans could feel his soul shatter. How didn't he notice that his bro was hurting so bad? His HoPe was so low, and he didn't do anything about it. And HoPe wasn't as simple as you eat a health item and it was instantly restored. No, this was a building block process, only restoring after an emotional balance has been played out.

"How long do you think it'll take to restore everything?"

Alphys fiddled nervously with her glasses. "W-Well…if everything goes s-smoothly, then…r-roughly two months, but…things like this don't usually play out l…like we want them t-t-to. If…If I was to g-g-go off of other monsters' ex…experiences…th-then I'd have to say up…up to a y-y-year."

Sans sighed, his hand resting against the top of his head. _A year? How the hell am I supposed to get everything restored while him being at school…unless…_

"What if I got him into homeschooling? Do you think that that would help him? I mean, if public school got him this messed up, then what would homeschooling do?"

Alphys looked into Sans's eye sockets with her own golden eyes. "W-Well…homeschooling is an…o-option. I think that that would be b-b-best. You…You shouldn't allow him to lock any doors that you aren't in, a-a-and you should hide any and all sharp objects. A-As a monster who went through…c-certain things like this, c-c-counseling might also be a g-good idea. But that may not be n-needed if he appears to be doing w-well."

Sans nods before his eyes look to the lab door. "Is he awake? Can I see him?"

Alphys nodded. She hit a button that was in her pocket that made the lab door elevate revealing a lab table in the center of the room with machines on the side of the room.

Sans walked in, the lab door shutting after him, a button on the inside on the wall. Sans walked over to the lab table that held Papyrus on it. Papyrus's eye sockets were closed, signifying his slumber. Sans couldn't help but gasp at the scars on Papyrus's bones. There were so many. He had to have cut really deep for them to scar like that. Especially since a certified doctor healed him up.

Sans couldn't help the tears that peeked into his eye sockets. "How could I have let this happen? How did I not see that you were hurting so bad, bro? I don't understand."

He grasped his hand around his little brother's. He felt tears fall down his cheekbones. "How could I have screwed up this bad?" The most important person in his life…about to jump into lava willingly. Sans shook his head, his tears flecking about a bit.

He felt a tiny squeeze around his hand; his eye sockets widened at the unexpected action. He heard a small groan escape from Papyrus's mouth before his eye sockets began to slowly rise. "S…Sans?" Papyrus had to be sedated in order to do the examination, especially since he fought against it so much. It practically took Sans and Alphys to hold him down. It was after several failed minutes of keeping him down did Sans decide to use his magic and turn Papyrus's soul blue to keep him down.

And Sans had tears running down his face through every minute of it. Though, that was to be expected. Papyrus was the only family Sans had. Ever since…ugh. Maybe at a later date.

Sans gave weak squeeze back, a sad smile plastered to his face as tears continued to fall from his eye sockets. "H-Hey, Pap. How do you feel?"

Papyrus groaned again lightly as he brought his right hand up to rub at his eye socket. "Sl-Sleepy, but other than that…fine."

Sans couldn't help the watery chuckle that escaped his mouth. "That's…That's good, bro."

Papyrus gave a weird look towards Sans. "Are…Are you crying?"

Sans shook his head, wiping his eye sockets with the sleeve of his hoodie. "Nah, bro. I'm gonna go ask Alphys if I can take you home now. Sound good?"

Papyrus nodded sleepily as he nuzzled his head against the pillow underneath it. "Yeah. 'M tired, Sans."

Sans rubbed Papyrus's spine softly, as if his touch would shatter him upon impact. "Go ahead 'n sleep, Pap. You've had a rough day." Almost as if on command, Papyrus shut his eye sockets and almost fell asleep instantly.

Sans let out a shaky breath that he hadn't even noticed he had been holding. He exited out of the lab to find Alphys standing in the waiting area, scribbling on the paper on her clipboard. Sans smiled weakly at the shy monster. "Hey, Alphys. Papyrus woke up. I was wondering if I could take him home."

Alphys nearly dropped her clipboard in surprise and shock when she heard Sans's unexpected voice. Once she realized what was going on, she regained a bit of her stance. "Y-Yeah. He's f-free to go h-home. B-But remember what I s-said. Get rid of all sh-sharp objects and t-take him o-out of school. I…I'd even have him sleep with y-you for tonight."

Sans nodded, flipping the hood up of his hoodie onto his head. "Right. Thanks, Alphys." She only smiled warmly in response. Upon reentering the lab, Sans wasn't surprised to see Papyrus in a small ball on the table. He let out a long sigh before scooping up the ten-year-old in his arms. Papyrus stirred at the unexpected movement.

"Sans?" He asked groggily. "Where are we going?"

Sans looked down at Papyrus with soft eyes. "Home," He answered. He adjusted Papyrus a bit in his arms so that said skeleton was comfortable. "Go ahead and sleep." And Papyrus did as he was told. Now, if Sans could teleport with another person, he would do so, but he hadn't yet gotten that ability yet, so walking was the only other option he had. But, thankfully, it wasn't that far as long as he took the riverboat.

And another good thing was that the riverboat was always open.

After Sans walked the short distance from Alphys's lab to the riverboat, he climbed on, Papyrus still snuggled in his arms. Once he requested that he and Papyrus be taken to Snowdin, the boat began to take off. Soon, the blistering heat of Hotlands was replaced with the stifling coldness of Snowdin. Sans muttered a thank you to the person running the small boat before climbing off and into the snow.

He trudged against the deep snow, silently rejoicing once their house came into view. He opened the door after shifting Papyrus over to his left arm, his right hand reaching for the brass handle. He pushed the door in and was happy when he was greeted with the perfectly warm home instead of the too hot or too cold temperatures of the outside.

Carefully, Sans climbed the stairs, Papyrus now cradled in both of his arms. Sans almost made the fatal mistake of taking Papyrus to his own room, but was quick to correct his error and take him to his room. Due to the lack of time, Sans's room was littered with dirty socks and dirty white T-shirts. _I'll get around to it_ , Sans thought inwardly, knowing that it was a lie. He pulled back the still not so dirty comforter back before slipping Papyrus underneath it, placing his head on top of the pillow. He wanted to at least crack a smile at the sight of his brother, but the reason as to why Papyrus needed to be in his room was anything but funny.

He let out a tired sigh before teleporting down to the kitchen. With a flick of his hand, all of the drawers opened. With another, all of the sharp knives and forks were whisked away to Asgore knows where. But Sans didn't care where they went. All that mattered was that they were gone and out of the house.

Sans found himself searching the entire house including the bathroom, garage, all of the closets, and even the couch cushions. Soon, Sans found himself in Papyrus's room. He searched the closet, the drawers of Papyrus's dresser, and the drawers of his desk. Sans found himself on his knees searching under Papyrus's bed, alarmed when he noticed a small box hidden close to the back.

 _Please don't let there be a knife in there, please don't let there be a knife in there, please don't let there be a knife in there,_ Sans pleaded.

His pleads weren't answered.

Another tear was shed at his find of a very sharp knife in the box. With a look of hatred flashed towards the object, Sans flicked his hand sending the knife away from the house. Sans sighed.

He had looked everywhere. Every sharp object was out of the house. His eyes then landed on the paper that he had dropped in his rush to find Papyrus. His hand reached over to the paper, the corner of the delicate object slipping right in between his fingers.

His eyes scanned the paper over and over again before he clenched his eye sockets shut tightly. He crumpled the paper up in his hands before throwing it into the nearest waste bin.

He walked down the hallway of the second floor, entering his room. He lied down next to Papyrus not bothering to set an alarm of any kind. He didn't need to. Papyrus wasn't going to school and Sans had a more important place to be than at work at the moment. His eye sockets looked to the small clock on his nightstand.

 _4:01am_.

He had been searching the house for about four to three hours. He sighed for what seemed like the millionth time that night before wrapping his arms around Papyrus's frame, only allowing a tired smile to crack on his face when Papyrus immediately clung on to him.

Sans closed his eyes, ready to sleep, only to be haunted each time he closed his eye sockets by what that letter said.

 _Sans,_

 _I'm sorry, but I can't do this. If Ember hasn't already told you, I'm constantly bullied at school. I can't take it anymore. I'm sorry, bro. I love you._

 _~Papyrus_

 **So sorry that it took so long! I've been a bit busy with school! How am I doing? Did you like it, love it, hate it? Let me know! :)**


	9. Despondance

_If these walls could talk, they'd tell a thousand words_ , Sans thought to himself as he lied awake in bed, Papyrus curled up next to him, still snoozing peacefully. _They've seen two babies be carried through the front door and two deaths along with things I don't want to see or believe that my brother did to himself._

Sans sighed as his eyes shifted to his alarm clock. _7:23am_. Undyne would be coming over at around noon. He wasn't sure how Undyne would react around Papyrus since…well…since he was so…so…broken. Heck, _Sans_ wasn't even sure how he was going to react around Papyrus now. He didn't want to hurt him or cause his HoPe to go any lower than it already was. Because-as Alphys had said-if Papyrus's HoPe got any lower, he'd be in critical condition.

Now, Sans had had his fair share of periods where he was mentally unstable, and he'd even done some of the not so smart actions that Papyrus had done. But…Sans was determined to not let Papyrus go down that road, for it was dangerous and scary.

Sans had been clean from chipping for around a year or so, having started when he was merely the sweet age of fourteen. But to see his brother do it at the innocent age of ten…no, he couldn't allow it!

Papyrus's small hands clutched Sans's jacket, his head dug into the fur of the hoodie. Sans had to do a double take. He didn't even remember taking his jacket off. During one of the hours Sans had dozed off, Papyrus must have swiped it somehow, leaving Sans in his wrinkled, white T-shirt and black shorts with the white stripe down the seams of each pant leg. Not that Sans minded because he didn't. If anything, he must have gotten hot when he was asleep and slipped it off unconsciously.

Sure, Sans had dozed off a few times, but he hadn't _truly_ slept. They were just unconscious walks through the empty, dreamless void his mind had found him in. In short, he estimated to have gotten about one or two hours of sleep that night, and even then he probably got less than what he was crediting himself with.

Sans looked at Papyrus and just kind of…stared at him. He looked so much younger than ten when he was asleep. And much less…broken than what he really was. If Sans were to guess Papyrus's age just by looking at him as he slept, he'd guess that he was only six instead of ten. The way he held Sans's jacket close, the way he was curled up under the sheets, the way he breathed; it all just made him seem like he was so much younger than ten.

Sans sighed and shook his head. He turned to his back then to his right side to get a glimpse of the alarm clock. _7:48am_.

He decided he'd get up and make some coffee. Now, he wasn't a fan of the dark caffeinated drink, but it helped keep him awake, even when he'd much rather sleep. Plus, the taste wasn't so bad once he dumped a _whole_ bottle of ketchup into the mixture. He sat up carefully, as to not wake Papyrus up, and placed his sock covered feet on the carpeted floor. He stood on tired legs as he trudged out of the room and down the stairs to the kitchen.

He looked outside the window as he passed through the living room. It still looked dark out. If he were in Waterfall, there would be light beginning to break through, where if he were in Hotlands right now, the whole place would be engulfed in gentle light only to gradually get brighter and brighter throughout the day.

Groaning lightly, he made his way to the coffee maker in his kitchen and began to make the gross, dark, caffeinated drink. Once it was done, he poured himself a mug of it and squirted a few squirts of ketchup in it to give it a better flavor. He sat down in a kitchen chair at the table and began to slowly sip the drink.

He probably sat down there by himself for about an hour or so before he heard small footsteps make their way down the stairs and into the kitchen. Sans turned his head and there was little Papyrus, Sans's jacket tucked underneath his arm, and his tiny fist rubbing at his eye socket. Sans couldn't suppress the smile that invaded his face, try as he might.

"Hey, bud, how'd you sleep? You stole my jacket at some point."

Papyrus didn't answer. He just walked across the kitchen towards Sans and sat on Sans's lap. Sans looked confused, that is until Papyrus wrapped his arms around Sans's neck. Sans was shocked to say the least, and even more so when he felt wet tears hit against his shoulder blade and soak through his white T-shirt. Sans snaked his arms around Papyrus's frame, rubbing his spine. "Papyrus-"

"I'm sorry," Came Papyrus's broken and sobbing voice. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm so so sorry. I…I don't know wh-what came over me. I…I don't know what to do, S-S-Sans. I…I'm s-so scared."

Sans could feel his soul shatter. His poor brother. His poor poor brother. Sans shook his head and continued to rub Papyrus's spine. "Sh. It's ok. Everything's going to be ok. I'm here. Everyone's here for you. You can talk to me, or Undyne, or Alphys, even Mettaton if you want, but you are most certainly not going to go through this alone. None of us will ever let you go through something like this alone." Sans said, his grip tightening a little, a part of him afraid to let go. Afraid that that wasn't the correct answer.

Papyrus sniffed, his hands clutching Sans's shirt. "I…I don't t-trust myself, S-Sans. I'm…I'm scared."

Sans pulled Papyrus back gently only to connect their foreheads together. A 'skeleton kiss' his mother had once called it. "Paps, you're not alone. You're under surveillance, and I am not going to let my guard down. I won't let you do anything like this. We can be a team, Pap," Sans said, sniffling himself, tears threatening to fall from his unwilling eye sockets. "You tell me when you feel bad or upset or anything really. I'll help you. We'll do whatever it takes to make things right again, ok, Pap?"

Papyrus sniffed, more tears falling from his eye sockets. He nodded gently, moving to hug Sans again, burying his head into Sans's shoulder. Sans felt concern grow in the pit of his nonexistent stomach. He gripped his brother to his chest. "What can I do to make you feel better now, ey?"

Papyrus sniffed and shook violently, his head resting against Sans's shoulder. "J…Just stay here…p-p-please."

Sans nodded and kept his arms wrapped around Papyrus. "Yeah," He said softly. "Ok."

OoOoOoO

"Thanks for coming, Undyne. I'm sure he'll be ecstatic to see you once he wakes up." Sans said as he opened the front door to allow Undyne in. The head of the royal guard entered, pulling her red hair back up into a ponytail.

"No problem. I'm not sure what has got the punk into such a spiral, but I will help. He's my little buddy. I'll do whatever it takes to help him feel better."

Sans couldn't help the relieved smile that spread onto his face. "Thanks. He's practically slept the day away due to his low HoPe."

"That's to be expected," Undyne said, wiping her boots of on the little mat by the door. She walked into the living room, eyes on Sans. "Shouldn't you know that, I mean, aside from Alphys, you're one of the smartest monsters in the Underground. I don't know why you ever gave up being the royal scientist. It gets really good pay."

"And crazy hours," Sans reminded the royal guardsman-er…woman-with the point of his finger. "If you haven't realized, Alphys completely just up and moved into the lab. I could never do that. This is the only home Papyrus has ever known."

"But as stated," Undyne retaliated, sitting on the couch, legs crossed left over right, "Papyrus would move in with you, which would make things easier."

Sans sighed exasperatedly, a hand going up to cradle his exhausted head. "Yes, he'd move in with me, but with experience from my father, I'd never have time for Papyrus. The only time that old bat spent with Pap and I was when he was experimenting on us or beating us senseless. Other than that, he was working on _something else_ in that old lab."

Undyne was silent after that. She knew that Sans was trying really hard to get himself and Papyrus by financially, but she also knew that he was running himself into the ground. Ever since the…accident…Gaster had, Sans had taken on two jobs to pay off bills and taxes. And Undyne knew this. She tried her hardest to help him when the need arose, but the short skeleton was very stubborn when it came to money. "Well…maybe I can get Asgore to give you a well-paying job with few hours."

Sans snorted at the offer. "Unlikely. What job has few hours with well pay? Honestly, Undyne, does such a thing exist?"

Undyne growled lightly, placing her elbow on her knee and her chin in the palm of her hand. Sans and her had been friends for as long as she could remember, and he had helped her out every chance he had gotten, despite his own struggles. Though, Gerson did a very good job raising Undyne. Now, Undyne strived to help him along with his little brother. She believed that Papyrus deserved the very best from the world and the people around him. And Sans had to agree with her. Papyrus was too innocent for his own good.

"There could be something. I'll just have to ask. After all, Asgore was very close to Gaster. Surely, he'd do something for his kids if he knew the true story."

Sans scoffed, his eye sockets now pupiless, fists shoved into the pockets of his jacket. "Heh, if he knew the truth, he probably wouldn't believe it. Asgore's too much of a softy to believe that my asshat of a father would do _anything_ as terrible as that."

Nobody would believe that _anyone_ in all of the underground would do something as horrible as Gaster had. Everyone was extremely nice due to everyone having about the same amount of money and items. Undyne sighed. "Well, you hardly lie, Sans. He'll understand." The first statement was a lie in itself, Sans knew. Sans always lied to Papyrus, though he'd always feel a tight knot in his chest afterwards. Papyrus would ask if Sans had gotten enough sleep the night before.

 _"Slept like a baby."_

In reality, Sans had only gotten three hours of sleep if he wasn't interrupted by a nightmare in between. Do we have enough money?

 _"We've got money to spare."_

In reality, Sans only had just enough to pay bills, while he sometimes didn't even have enough to pay for food. Are we ever going to get out of the underground?

 _"Someday, bud."_

That was probably a lie. And if not, the cost was too great for a reward of not high enough quality. Seven human souls? Killed? Was it really worth it to escape the underground? Honestly, the underground wasn't all _that_ bad. It was just like the surface only underground. Plus, Sans knew that the surface had war. And war was something the underground didn't possess. Was it really worth it, scrupulously?

Sans chuckled bitterly. "Yeah," He said with a roll of his eyes, "right."

"Sans?" A sleepy voice asked from the top of the stairs. Sans turned to look at the stairs, his eyes meeting the sleepy ones of his younger brother's.

He smiled softly. "Hey, bud. Undyne's here. Do you wanna come down and say hi?"

Papyrus nodded gently before walking down the stairs, his red scarf clutched tightly in his fist. He smiled tiredly at Undyne, his fist rubbing at his eye socket. "Hi, Undyne." His words were separated by a yawn.

Sans chuckled with a shake of his head before picking Papyrus up. "I don't understand how you can be so _bone tired_ right now, kiddo. You practically slept the day away already. It's already noon."

Papyrus groaned sleepily. "Sans…stop with your puns, please."

Sans chuckled lightly. "Aw, c'mon, kid. Throw me a _bone_. That's the first pun I've told today."

"Sans…" Papyrus groaned, his head leaning against Sans's shoulder.

Sans snickered softly. "Alright, kid. _Tibia_ honest, I know that you don't find my puns all that _humorous_ , so I'll throw you a _bone_ just this once."

Papyrus groaned again, this one just a tad bit more lively than the previous two. He kicked his feet lightly signifying that he wanted down, and Sans placed him on the ground. Papyrus walked over to Undyne, his scarf still in hand. He wanted to be happy to see her. He wanted to be able to jump into her arms and yell 'I'm going to be a part of the royal guard someday'. He wanted to laugh and smile and just act like everything was alright.

But he couldn't.

He wasn't.

He wasn't happy to see Undyne. He wasn't able to smile or laugh.

He couldn't just jump into her arms and act like nothing at all happened. He knew that Sans had said something to her. He had to have. In truth, he just wasn't very happy.

"Hey, punk. Can you hear me?" Undyne said, waving her hand in front of his face. Papyrus shook his head, eyes unfocused and head foggy.

"Huh?"

"I've been calling your name for the past three minutes. Is something wrong?" She asked, her uncovered eye showing a deep look of concern and a bit of fear, but not to the point of where Papyrus could detect it.

Papyrus began to shake his head, but he stopped. Sans had always told him that it wasn't good to lie. Though, these past few months or so had been _nothing but lies_. He had to break the chain at some point. "I…I…" He tried to begin, not able to find the correct words. He felt a hand on his shoulder and he nearly jumped into the air.

"Take your time, bud. What's wrong? You can tell us." Sans said gently. Way too gently for the task at hand.

Papyrus looked between the two, his soul beating loudly and painfully against his ribcage. He could feel his breathing pick up. "I…I only want Sans to know." The words seemed so foreign coming from his mouth. He was normally very open with what he was thinking. But now…he only felt comfortable with Sans knowing.

Sans and Undyne seemed just as shocked as Papyrus felt, but they both nodded anyways.

"Undyne, could you go into the kitchen for a second? I want to speak to Papyrus for a second." Sans said calmly as Papyrus's hand clutched around the sleeve of Sans's jacket.

Undyne nodded. "Yeah. Call me back when you're done." She said before leaving to the kitchen a feeling of worry and concern swept over her as opposed to the usual anger that plagued her soul.

Sans looked back to Papyrus before kneeling down to his height. He placed a gentle hand on Papyrus's shoulder. "Wanna tell me now?"

Papyrus let go of Sans's sleeve only to clutch tighter around his red scarf. He began to shake, his bones rattling due to the movement. "I…I…I don't understand, S-Sans. I…I want to be happy, but I can't. I want to be happy to see Undyne, but I'm not. I…I wanna f-feel thrilled at the thought of doing a p-p-puzzle, but it all just seems so…p-p-pointless." Papyrus admitted, tears falling from his eye sockets.

Sans's eye sockets lost their white pupils and became pure black. Papyrus sniffled and began to slowly sob at his brother's reaction. Sans gripped Papyrus into a hug that Papyrus almost immediately returned, his hands now clutching his jacket once again. "Hey…Hey, bud…it's ok. There's no need to cry."

"It's…It's scary."

"I know, Pap, I know. But we'll get through this. We…We get through everything together. We're not going to let this change that, are we?" Sans asked, rubbing Papyrus's spine in calm, soothing circles.

Papyrus sniffed lightly before shaking his head against Sans's shoulder. "N-No," He said with a gentle sniff. "We won't."

 **Oh my gosh, I'm so sorry for the long wait! I've been weighed down with school, learning lines for a play this Friday and Saturday, going to my first comic convention last Saturday, getting chapter books read, dealing with some family issues, and just trying to keep a stable mind overall. I've actually had this done for a while, I just never got to it. I guess it was just waiting to be proof read. Thankfully, that has just been done, and it is ready. So did you like it, love it, hate it? Let me know! I love hearing from you guys! And if you have any suggestions, I'd love to hear them! :)**


	10. Should I Tell Him

"How long have you been clean again?" Undyne asked Sans as the two waited outside the lab where Papyrus was being worked with. Sans was taken back by the question, cocking a metaphorical eyebrow at her.

"What do you mean?" He inquired, leaning against the cool lab walls that felt a lot like tiles. Undyne gave him a look that stated that she was clearly not stupid.

"You know what I'm talking about. You know exactly what. I caught you back two years ago when you were sixteen. You know what I'm talking about. Papyrus isn't the only one in your family guilty of such an act."

Sans froze at the way she worded her sentence. He wanted to glare at her for bringing Papyrus's issue up, but he couldn't stop staring ahead at her. "I told you to never mention it."

"Well," Undyne began as she sat in a waiting chair next to the closed door that kept Papyrus in the same room as Alphys in attempts of counseling helping Papyrus, "if you hadn't have played dumb, I may have not mentioned it, but you refused to answer my question as well as dodged it. And if there's one thing that you know about me, it's that I don't accept dodges," She smirked lightly, hoping that her humor would arouse Sans in just the slightest. Her attempt proved to be fruitless, however, seeing as Sans's stance stayed the same as before. She let her smirk fall a bit. "How long have you been clean?"

Sans just shook his head slightly, trying to regain all feeling back within his being. Once he did, he glared at the captain of the Royal Guard. "A year. I'm fine. We need to focus on getting Papyrus fixed. My baby brother is in the room right next to us, broken and beaten down, and I'll do anything it takes to see his laugh and hear his smile again. I'm not giving up on him." Sans was breathing slightly heavily at the end of his little rant.

Undyne realized something. _That could take quite a bit of money,_ she thought to herself. _And Sans is already working himself down into the ground._ Maybe...just maybe...she'd have to talk to Asgore about it, but...yes, yes, she had an idea. "Sans, money's pretty tight in your house hold, is it not?"

Sans cocked his head to the side, looking a bit insulted. Why was she asking such a thing? What did it matter to her, anyways? It was none of her concern. "What does it matter to you?" Yes, he realized how rude he sounded, but he honestly didn't care all that much. He was already mad and on edge. How could he not be? His little brother, his light, his life, had nearly killed himself. If he had been just a few seconds short...

...

That's all it would have taken...

...

A few seconds.

The more that that thought began to dawn on Sans, the more he began to tremble, the more his head began to pound. The more he yearned to scream at the top of his non-existent lungs. He shook his head, trying to regain his previous stance and make it look as if he hadn't had a moment. Undyne had been oblivious to such, much to Sans's relief, and continued on with her point. "I think I know how to get you a great job with great pay. You'd be able to quit all other jobs you have." Undyne offered, crossing her right leg over her left.

Sans's brows furrowed in confusion. "What job would pay so high?" He asked, shoving his hands into his jacket pockets. "I have to work two jobs just to make sure that we both have enough money to eat food. What could you do to make sure that we have enough money for food and house taxes?"

Undyne placed an elbow on her knee, placing her chin in the palm of her hand. "I...know a guy..." She said slowly, devising the plan in her head, "but I need your 'ok' before anything. Would you like me to ask?"

Sans thought over his options here. He could either keep his two jobs, earning him barely enough money to keep food on the table and pay off house taxes-which they were already in debt-or he could take the chance of Undyne asking and not be run down into the ground and be bone tired in the morning. But...what if Papyrus noticed him trying to switch jobs? He may get the wrong idea. After he had worked in that lab for so long, leaving Papyrus home alone for what felt like an eternity, he was extremely careful with his career choices. Especially now when Papyrus needed him. The words rolled from his mouth hesitantly. "You can ask. Just be sure to get the terms and agreements to me ASAP. I'm not having a similar experience like when I worked in that lab."

Undyne smiled slightly and nodded. "Right. I remember that. Papyrus had been so-"

"Thanks, I don't need a run down. I remember." Sans interrupted, glaring as he continued to lean against the cool tile that worked as the walls.

Slowly, the lab door opened, revealing a crying Papyrus and a nervous looking Alphys. Sans's eyes widened at the tears. Papyrus was quick to act as soon as Sans was in sight. He ran to his older kin, and hugged him around the waist. "Brother, please don't leave me alone! Please don't make me come back alone! Please!" Papyrus babbled in his teary fits. Sans's soul began to melt. Alphys said that the first few sessions should be done with just her and Papyrus so that they could gain a sense of trust. Obviously, now to Sans, that had been the wrong way to begin the sessions. He picked Papyrus up into his arms and allowed Papyrus to cry into his shoulder and latch on to him. Honestly, if Sans were to let go, Papyrus would not have fallen for he was holding on too tightly.

"I won't make you go in there alone again, Pap. I'm sorry I made you do that, bro," Sans said calmly, rubbing Papyrus's spine in slow, soothing circles. He looked to Undyne with pleading eyes. "Pap, why don't you go with Undyne for a bit so I can talk to Dr. Alphys? Sound good, buddy?"

"No!" Papyrus's voice came out in an ear ringing shriek. "I want to stay with you, brother! I...I don't want to be alone again! Please, don't make me go with her!" He pleaded and begged as his grip on Sans only became tighter. Undyne glanced at Sans with sad eyes, and Sans at her with worried ones. Papyrus never once had separation anxiety like this. It was very concerning. Whether he liked it or not, Sans had to speak to Alphys without Papyrus there. He had to get Undyne to take him.

"Buddy, I'm sorry, but I really need to talk to Dr. Alphys. Please...just go with Undyne, and when I get back we can go home and do whatever you want. Anything at all. But I need you to go with Undyne. Please, bud." Sans pleaded. Papyrus looked to Undyne hesitantly, trembling vigorously. Slowly, and dubiously, Papyrus nodded. Undyne smiled gently, holding her arms out to the small skeleton. Sans handed Papyrus to her, Papyrus nuzzling her shoulder slightly, but not nearly as trustingly as he had to Sans.

"Atta boy, Pap," Undyne said softly, rubbing his spine. "Why don't we go get some nice cream? Sound good, buddy?" Papyrus shook slightly, but nodded. Almost immediately his eye sockets widened.

"W-Wait! It w-won't heal my s-scars, will it?!" He asked frantically as if he needed the scars to live. Sans's soul was melting the longer he watched his brother being forced to suffer in the way he was. He shook his head and rubbed Papyrus's spine through his shirt.

"No, buddy, it won't." Sans, Undyne, and Alphys had found that Papyrus would refuse any and all food that would heal his scars, which Sans understood. He had been the same way when he was as bad as Papyrus was. But Papyrus was younger which only made Sans's soul throb with pain even more.

Papyrus was so young.

"Go with Undyne and get some nice cream, bro. It may calm you down a bit, ok?" Sans said, sticking his hand in his pocket and taking out 12G. He sighed slightly. It's all that he had. It was just enough to get Papyrus some nice cream in Hotlands. "Here, Undyne, you can buy his nice cream with this."

Undyne could see Sans's defeated look and shook her head, adjusting Papyrus's position in her arms. "I can buy it. My treat. You just worry about what Dr. Alphys has to say about the kid." She said, flashing a gentle smile. Well, as gentle of a smile as the undying Undyne could provide. Sans smiled tiredly, rubbing his left hand against his left eye socket. Even without flesh, he seemed to be growing dark rings underneath his eye sockets.

"Thanks, Undyne. I'll be sure to pay you back."

"You will do no such thing," She reprimanded. "I will buy the nice cream. Just worry about what we can do to make the champ feel better."

The gratefulness that Sans felt was unending. He knew that he would never be able to pay Undyne back for the kind gesture. "Thank you, Undyne."

She smiled. "No problem, Sans." And with that, she took Papyrus out of the lab and down across the path to get Papyrus his treat. When they were out of sight and ear shot, Sans let out a breath signifying his relief and exhaustion. If he were to be completely honest with himself, he knew that he had not slept in at least two days. Papyrus had been having too many episodes to risk falling asleep. And, quite honestly, it was really beginning to wear down on his soul. Though he would not admit such, he did not care. All that he cared about was keeping his little brother safe and out of harm's way. He turned to the open lab door that lead to the room where Alphys had been working with Papyrus. He walked in and looked around.

It looked nice enough. Kid friendly. There was a round table in the middle of the room with sheets of white paper and a box of crayons right next to them. There were several children's drawings on the walls from previous patients she had had, no doubt. Alphys, currently, was at her computer, inputting notes about Papyrus's session.

"How'd it go?" Sans asked, knowing already what the answer was.

Horrible.

Alphys turned her head towards Sans after inputting her last few notes to take on the young skeleton. She picked up a clipboard with a sheet of paper on it and notes. She messed with her wired glasses nervously. "W-W-Well, he's not very...t-t-trusting towards me yet. He won't o-o-open up to me at all. Right now he is s-s-suffering from separation anxiety to a d-d-degree that I have never before seen in a child of his a-a-age. Along with that I noticed that he sc-sc-scratches at his arms. I recommend that he wears r-r-rubber bands on both arms. I just...d-d-d-don't know how to get him to open up to me." Alphys said with a sigh at the end of her rundown. Papyrus was a difficult situation. She couldn't help if he didn't open up to her at all. She didn't even know the reason Papyrus began to feel that way. The only information that Sans had was from Papyrus's suicide that he had written nearly a week ago.

Sans pondered on the matter of the lack of trust. What if... "What if I tell him stories of when we met? How you helped me?"

Alphys's eyes widened. "Sans, that gets into the subject with W. D. Gaster. Are you going to tell him? I mean, we met after he shattered your leg. How are you going to explain your shattered leg to Papyrus without mentioning W. D. Gaster?" Alphys asked, not stuttering once due to her shock.

Sans sighed, hiding his hands in his face. He hadn't thought of that. "I...I'm not sure," He took deep breaths, trying to refill his metaphorical lungs with air once more. He absolutely hated talking about W. D. Gaster. Just the name left a foul taste in his mouth. As did the word Dad, Father, or any form of the word. Talking about W. D. Gaster always brought back the awfullest of memories. Never any of the happy ones. At least not anymore. When he was younger the name had brought up both a combination of good and bad memories, but as he grew older, he found that the good memories slowly began to die off and be replaced with all of the horrible ones. Especially the one with his eye. The pain in his right eye had never healed. It remained constant. "I don't want to lie to Pap and say that Father was a good man, but I don't want to say that he was a bad man, either, because he wasn't. He had just been overwrought with grief. He couldn't help that. But...the things he did..." Sans shivered in remembrance.

Alphys placed a gentle and unsure hand on Sans's shoulder. "I had to f-fix a lot of the d-d-damage he had done to you and P-P-Papyrus. I don't think that Papyrus should be k-k-kept away from the past."

"But would that make him worse?" Sans inquired, his head jumbled and foggy. He didn't want to tell Papyrus about their father yet. Not yet. Or...maybe...not ever.

But he knew that that was unfair. Papyrus had been dying to know who their father was and what he was like since he first learned to speak. He couldn't keep him away from Gaster.

"I...I'm unsure. I...I don't th-think that it w-will. If anything it...m-may help. Hopefully." She said nervously, keeping a single hand on Sans's shoulder.

He sighed, placing his right hand over his right hand. "He abused us. He experimented on us," He looked at Alphys, doubt embedded into his eye sockets. "Are you sure telling him about Gaster and how you helped may help in a way?"

Alphys smiled very slightly. "O-O-Only one way to f-f-find out."

Sans sighed, covering his face with both of his hands. Perhaps, just maybe, it may help in the slightest way possible. It would be painful to go back to, but...if it meant a chance of Papyrus getting better..."Ok," Sans said finally. "I'm going to tell Papyrus about W. D. Gaster."

 **Ok...so I am SO sorry about this update taking so long. My computer completely gave up on me, so now I have to type my stories up at school. But I did it! So...tell me what you think, please! Did you like it, love it, hate it? Let me know! :)**


	11. Realization

"I don't like her," Papyrus muttered into the cloth of Undyne's tank top. "She keeps asking me questions. Really...personal ones that I only want to tell Sans. I don't like her." He said with a sniffle at the end of his sentence.

Undyne frowned and began to rub Papyrus's back soothingly. "I know that it's not fun having to see someone about stuff this personal," She began as she continued to carry Papyrus to the nice cream stand that couldn't be further than a mile away, "but she's just trying to help. If you want to get better-"

"I'm not going to get better." Papyrus muttered. Though Undyne was not wearing her battle armor, her tank top provided enough cloth to muffle any sounds that came from Papyrus's voice, but it wasn't enough to keep Papyrus's entire sentence inaudible. When she heard what he had said, she stopped dead in her tracks. She didn't dare move. She hardly dared to breathe. This person that has admired her for as long as she could remember, this creature who she had watched give his first steps, this monster who Sans had attempted to protect for ten years, this _child_ who was merely a _child_ and had not yet experienced the best parts of life, believed that he wasn't going to get any better. The thought angered her for mainly one of many reasons.

She was mainly angered that it was Papyrus.

While he had been growing up, she had never once seen him cry aside from when he was but a baby bones and was in need of his many necessities that Sans always catered to and managed, no matter how or where they were financially. Whenever Undyne had gone to see the small child he would always run up to her with the biggest grin on his face and his arms spread out, expecting for her to pick him up and play with him. Whenever Undyne came over, she knew that Sans was more than grateful. Normally, Undyne would watch the child for two or three hours while Sans had either went out to get food-which required either buying or stealing them-or took a nap before his next shift. She knew that he worked two shifts, which the second one would typically transpire while Papyrus was asleep. Sometimes, Undyne would come over during the night and use the house key Sans had so graciously given her. She'd sleep on the couch and watch over Papyrus while Sans was at work. She used to do that a lot when Papyrus was around three or four years old.

Just thinking about the old times that they had made her heart ache. Though emotions had always been fairly difficult for her to express around others, Papyrus had always had a soft spot in her heart. And to know that he had tried to kill himself in such a manner made the matter at hand even worse than it already seemed. And much more bleak at that. She put Papyrus down on the ground and knelt before him, placing a hand onto his shoulder. "You are going to get better, Papyrus. I promise."

"How do you know?" Papyrus shot back, his arms lying limply and motionless at his sides.

Undyne opened her mouth to speak her response, only to realize that she did not have one. So there she stood, her hand placed upon Papyrus's shoulder, mouth opened wide as if she was speaking, but her lips remained stationary and her voice silent. To any by passers, Undyne realized, she must have looked like the biggest idiot in the entire underground. But she kept thinking of what to tell the broken and scared skeleton. He gazed at her, awaiting the answer that she seemed to have, but when he realized that she was remaining silent, his tiny glimmer of hope had been quickly destroyed. His empty eye sockets fell from Undyne to the ground that they each stood on. Though, Undyne felt more as if she had her head in the clouds. Granted, she was uncertain of what clouds _really_ looked like, but she had been told stories and had seen pictures in books that fell from the surface world. All in all, she knew that her head was anywhere but underground, much less her feet on this ground.

What was she to say?

"Because..." She began, unsure of what she was going to completely say, "because Sans and I will make sure of it."

"But how do you plan to do that?" Papyrus inquired.

Undyne placed her index finger near the skeleton's teeth, in a manner most people would do to another's lips in order to ensure their silence. "You don't worry about how we'll do it. Just...know that we will. At any cost. I promise, Papyrus," Papyrus looked ready to debate when Undyne's finger fell from his teeth, but before he could protest, Undyne grabbed his hand. "C'mon, bud," She said as she began to trudge, Papyrus following her, "let's go get some nice cream."

OoOoOoO

"Thanks for taking Pap out so I could talk to Alphys." Sans greeted when he met Papyrus and Undyne up at the nice cream stand.

Undyne smiled. "No problem, punk. Anything for my favorite kid in the entire underground." She said, giving Papyrus a bit of a noogie on the top of his skull, earning a small and quite laugh from said skeleton.

Sans looked to Papyrus and then to Undyne then back to Papyrus. "You ready to go back home, bud? I have something I kind of want to talk to you about when we get home." Sans said, his left hand finding his way to the back of his neck in a fit of nervousness. Papyrus could tell that Sans was growing nervous, which concerned the troubled skeleton greatly. Sans rarely ever got nervous, but...lately he had been more nervous. But, Papyrus gave Sans the benefit of the doubt. If he had seen Sans about to jump into the lava that Hotland had, he would be pretty nervous the days to come afterward as well.

Papyrus nodded gently. "Y-Yeah. I'm ready to go."

Sans smiled lightly, a mirrored image of Undyne's. He stuck out his hand which Papyrus gladly took and latched onto. But that wasn't enough for the child. Instead, he let go of Sans's hand and stuck his hands out towards the older skeleton, opening and closing them. Sans chuckled lightly at Papyrus's childish and by far innocent action that he could not deny. He picked up his little brother and held him comfortably in his arms. Papyrus leaned his skull against Sans's shoulder much to the other's amusement. Papyrus had adopted that action a long time ago when he had been just a baby bones. He still pulled the action on occasion, and Sans found himself unable and unwilling to deny the action, need, and want that the younger would pull out.

Undyne smiled at the familiar act that Papyrus pulled out like he had as a young child. It seemed as if it was only yesterday that Papyrus was still wearing his orange onesies and needed his diaper changed. But it had really been several years since he's needed something like that done or since he had worn onesie pajamas. "I'll see you later, Pap, ok?"

Papyrus nodded into Sans's shoulder, not giving a verbal response like Undyne had been hoping that he would give. She gave out a gentle sigh out of frustration, but tried desperately not to let her frustration show. She gave a defeated wave towards Sans. "See ya later, bone head."

Sans smiled tiredly at Undyne. "See ya fish stick."

And they parted ways.

While Sans walked, Papyrus found himself growing sleepier and sleepier, the movements of Sans's walking lulling him deeper and deeper into a willingness to fall asleep. But before he lost consciousness, Papyrus noticed that Sans's jacket sleeve had rode up on his arm a bit due to him holding Papyrus. What he saw shocked him. But in the end, he decided that his head was simply playing tricks on him. He was so tired that surely he had to be seeing things.

There was no way that Sans had a scar similar to his own.

OoOoOoO

 _Sans trudged around Snowdin for a bit, Papyrus lying in his arms. Sans's baggy, worn out jacket reached down to his knees. In any other circumstance, the jacket would have provided at least some assortment of protection from the cold and bone chilling winds, and that jacket would have to if it wasn't for the many holes that were cut into the jacket from it being so old and worn out. But it was the warmest article of clothing that he owned for himself. He had decided to head to Waterfall where Undyne lived. Maybe she would offer some assortment of shelter for at least the night. She had never met Papyrus, so he was uncertain if Undyne or her parents would allow the two monsters to stay for a night. If it was that much of an issue, Sans could sleep outside, so long as Papyrus got to sleep inside where he was safe. But if the trouble was so great, Sans decided that he and Papyrus would just head to Hotland for the night. It wasn't exactly the safest place in the world, but it was much warmer than any other place, though he was beginning to consider Waterfall as a possible candidate for their night stay. Waterfall was generally fairly warm due to the humidity that the waterfalls gave off._

 _Honestly, either of the choices were better than Snowdin, which lived up to its name._

 _Unfortunately, the trek often took the better half of an hour or two. Especially since Sans had not the foggiest idea of where Waterfall or Hotland lied. He had assumed that the destinations would be fairly easy to find considering that the underground didn't seem terribly spacious. But, then again, his entire life had transpired right in the heart of Snowdin. He had never once set foot out of the snowy area, hence his surprise and complete shock when Undyne had mentioned that she lived in an area called Waterfall._

 _Eventually, Sans found the entrance that lead to Waterfall. Immediately after setting foot over the border he felt a climate change. The snowy remains on his jacket melted away to pure water. The snow that had once surrounded his slipper-and now numbed-feet melted away, leaving his feet now numb from the sudden temperature change. He began to feel a bit feverish from the sudden change, but he still pressed on._

 _Papyrus began to squirm a bit in his arms, opening his jaw to let out a gentle yawn before it clacked back shut. Sans stopped for a second, looking down at the small bundle of joy that trusted Sans with his life. Sure, for the short time Sans had taken full responsibility of Papyrus, he had loved him with all of his soul, but he had never once realized what Papyrus truly was to him._

 _He looked down at the two month old baby in his arms that slept peacefully. With the way that the baby acted, you would never believe the unimaginable horror that the child had been forced to go through nearly for his entire life. Yet, this child was now the reason that Sans continued to press on. With the injuries their father had inflicted on him, he'd much rather be dead in this instant. He'd rather not feel the burning sensation in his leg each time he moved it. He'd rather be able to see out of both of his eyes. He'd rather both of his HP's to not be as low as they were. Both his health points and Hope had dangerously gone down to the point where neither were repairable._

 _He'd rather give up._

 _Yet, he didn't._

 _Because of only one reason._

 _And he was staring at that reason while it slept soundly and obliviously._

 _Sans felt tears build up within his eye sockets. He tried to push them back, but they only got stronger and stronger before Sans found himself unable to breathe. He fell to his knees, sobs wracking through his small frame, and Papyrus held closely and safely to his chest. Papyrus gave his life meaning, he realized. Papyrus was all that he had left. This child, this infant, his brother was all that he had left. And this child, this bundle of joy, this miracle that Sans had been gifted with was dependent on Sans for protection._

 _"I'll protect you, baby bro," He began to sob, shaking his head, tears dripping from his eye sockets and down his cheek bones. "I'll protect you. I'll preserve your light; your innocence," He placed his teeth against Papyrus's forehead in a manner that mimicked kissing. His hands were trembling. Hell, he was trembling in general. Never once had he realized just how much this child meant to him. But now he knew. "I'll protect you, Papyrus. No matter the cost." And just two more words to seal the deal. Two more words that he hated to say._

 _"I promise."_

OoOoOoO

The trek seemed a bit longer than what it was, even with the assistance of the river boats man. But no matter the circumstances, Sans had forced himself to awake his brother at the arrival of Snowdin to ensure that he was awake enough when they got home so he could speak to him.

When they reached home, Sans pulled Papyrus to the living room and down to the couch. "Pap...bro, we need to talk." He said seriously, the pupils in his eyes fading away. The seriousness that Sans held made Papyrus quite nervous.

"A-About what, brother?" He asked, concern dripping from each word he spoke.

Sans was silent for a moment. He took a deep breath for a moment before exhaling and revealing a weary expression. "W. D. Gaster."


	12. Hard Floors

**Warning: This chapter contains mentions and graphic abuse. If you are sensitive to that subject, I strongly advise you to click out of the chapter. You have been warned.**

Papyrus's breath caught in his throat. "F...Father?" He questioned in order to make sure of the situation they were about to get into.

Sans gave a small nod, the lights in his eyes completely dim, leaving his eye sockets empty like a void of a deep black ocean. "Yeah...about..." He didn't want to call that scum bag his father, but biologically speaking, that's what he was, "father." Sans got over himself and called the beast the high praised name anyways, for Pap's sake. He had Papyrus's full attention. Papyrus didn't take his eye sockets off of his older brother, awaiting the story that Sans had never dared to speak of when they were younger, claiming that the time had to be right for him to talk about the sore topic.

"What was he like?" Papyrus quickly questioned. "How tall was he? How did he smell? Was he a great scientist like everyone says he was? What was his favorite color? Did he ever-"

Papyrus's question session was abruptly cut off by Sans placing his finger to Papyrus's teeth. Sans took in a deep breath, thinking over each question Papyrus had just thrown at him. It made his head spin, thinking over the answers. _6'4, like the sterilization a hospital possessed, he was an amazing scientist, the best there ever was, but he used his smarts for evil in private, purple._ "Please, Pap," Sans pleaded, eye sockets closed, "don't throw questions like that at me. It's hard enough for me to talk about this. If...if I'm still ok by the end of this, I _might_ answer a few questions. But I'm not guaranteeing anything." Sans reasoned as best as he could while trying to respect his own mental stability.

Papyrus nodded slowly, and a bit hesitantly. He was starting to question within his head if it was a good idea for Sans to talk about this. "If, uh...Y'know...this is too much for you to talk about...you don't _have_ to tell me right now."

"You don't understand, Pap," Sans said as he rubbed his hands together before bringing them to his face and sliding them down, "I do have to talk about this. Whether I want to or not," He sighed, looking at the clock on the wall, watching as the hands ticked and tocked away, the second hand moving by much faster than the minute and hour hand. The time read _7:08 P.M._ "Now buckle in. This is going to be a _long_ night."

He took in a deep breath and let it out.

Inhale.

Exhale.

Inhale.

Exhale.

 _Inhale._

 _Exhale._

 _Inhale._

 _Exhale._

 _He had to breathe or else it would hurt more. Especially if he hyperventilated. He had to keep his breathing under control. If not, his ribs would hurt even worse. He tried to pull his arms against the restraints that held him back on the lab table. That was a grave mistake. Pain shot up through his being like a bright, vibrant fire that never could be put out. It was too hot._

 _W. D. Gaster placed his hands against the lab table, each one on either side of Sans's head. "Heh, you're peculiar, Sans, you know that, right? Despite your extremely low HP, you can sustain several very torturous accounts. Perhaps it's the amount of magic that you have, coursing through your being. Who would have thought?" Gaster stepped away from the table and away to his cart that contained several different liquid medicines, pills, and chemically filled syringes._

 _Sans began to hyperventilate again then stopped breathing once he felt a gigantic twinge of pain against his soul. Him not breathing wasn't helping at all either, but he couldn't breathe. No matter how much he tried he just couldn't breathe correctly anymore._

 _Inhale._

 _Exhale._

 _Inhale._

 _..._

 _Exhale._

 _Inhaleexhale_

 _Inhaleexhale_

 _Inhaleexhale_

 _He couldn't breathe._

 _He couldn't fucking breathe!_

 _No matter how much he tried, his fucking nonexistent lungs wouldn't take in any air for him._

 _He was dying._

 _He had to be._

 _He was in so much pain._

 _"I want do die!" He screamed as loud as he could, not caring if Gaster heard his dark thoughts anymore. "I want to die! I can't take it! Let me die!" Gaster did not answer in any certain way. Well, not verbally anyways. He just walked over, syringe in hand with a liquid that looked as if the color blue and yellow had been mixed in together. Gaster placed the syringe against Sans's neck and injected it into his neck, right into his bones and flooding into his magic stream._

 _Almost immediately, Sans's entire body began to burn with the new chemical already invading his system and attacking his frail HP. He let out a blood curdling scream._

 _"Aaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhh!"_

 _But nobody came..._

 **He performed experiments. Horribly painful experiments. He didn't conduct too many on you, but he did perform a few when I was locked up and unable to fight him. But he wasn't always like this.**

OoOoOoO

 _"Sans! Sans, where are you?" A cheerful Gaster called out, searching for his only son, ready and excited to tell him the big news._

 _"Honey," Sans's mother said as she placed a gentle and caring hand on his shoulder, "he probably can't hear you. He's probably playing in his room."_

 _Gaster sighed happily and fondly. "Of course. I'll go tell our little man the big news," He said before giving his loving wife a gentle kiss. He walked up the stairs and up to Sans's room. He knocked on the seven-going on eight-year old's room. "Sans, buddy, can I come in?" Sure enough, he could hear tiny sounds of plane noises being made from the young child. Once Sans heard his father's voice, he stopped making noises and gave a verbal answer._

 _"Yeah!"_

 _Gaster turned the brass knob of Sans's door and pushed the door open, revealing Sans on the floor and on his back, a trashed toy plane in one hand and a little monster figurine in the other. Gaster gave a gentle chuckle before walking over to Sans's bed and sitting down on it. He patted his knee softly, beckoning his young son to come over to him. Sans stood from his position on the floor and walked over to his father and sat on his knee, Gaster bouncing him ever so slightly._

 _Gaster looked into his son's eye sockets, Sans's white pin pricks ever so vibrant and full of spark and life. Like a child's eyes should be. He let out a content sigh. "You know that your mother and I love you very much, right, bud?"_

 _Sans gave a gentle nod. "Yeah," He said quietly. "You and Momma tell me that every night before I go to sleep." Sans had always been a child of very few words. He never spoke much unless a question was asked of him. When it came to free will, he spoke very rarely, and if he did it was either very quietly or to tell a joke or some assortment of pun._

 _Gaster smiled softly and held Sans close to him. "Well, your going to have a baby brother."_

 _The way Sans's face lit up told a thousand words. He was so happy and excited. And he couldn't wait. He jumped up from Gaster's knee and onto his own feet, dancing in happiness._

 **He used to care what I thought. He used to care if I knew that he loved me or not. Which I'm sure that at one point he loved both of us. But...he changed.**

OoOoOoO

 _"Sans!" The tone in Gaster's voice had changed quite significantly than what it hade used to be. The once caring tone had changed drastically over only a small matter of days. It scared Sans. As it should for an eight year old boy. Especially when they're not used to such an intimidating tone. Sans had immediately exited from his room that had also changed. The once warming and welcoming room was now gone. The racecar bed was gone. Now there was only a pile of dirty rags. There were no more toys. Now there was only wrist and neck shackles. There was no more carpeting. Gaster had taken the liberty to tear the carpet up himself leaving only the bittering cold concrete. It felt as if there were no walls at all, allowing the cold, crisp Snowdin air to have a free attack on the poor inhabitant's frail bones._

 _"Y-Yes, doctor?" Sans stuttered out as he peeked out from his door, glancing up at the tall adult. Gaster's face held a demeaning glare and an infuriated scowl._

 _"What did I say about socializing with other children?!" He bellowed, the infuriated glare upon his face never ending. Sans knew exactly what his father was talking about. The one night that Gaster had shattered Sans's leg, he had thrown him outside in the snow to sleep there for that night. It had been one of the most painful nights of Sans's life. Until that fish girl who had said her name was Undyne came by and offered help through another friend. It's not like he wanted to speak to them. He had honestly tried to turn the first girl away so he wouldn't get in trouble...but the offer of medical attention at the time had been too good to pass up._

 _"Sh-She t-talked to me f-f-first." Sans whispered, horrified to speak and frozen in fear, too scared to move._

 _Gaster scoffed. "Excuses, **excuses!** " Gaster screamed as he threw Sans's door open, revealing the room that looked more as a torture dungeon. As soon as Gaster threw Sans's door open violently, Sans fell to the ground with a crash, quickly trying to scamper away from his father backwards, scooting on his behind and his hands gripping the ground in clawing motions trying to get away from his menacing father. "I'm tired of your **excuses!"** He brought his hand down upon the child who tried oh so desperately to scamper away. But no matter where he tried to hid and no matter how loud he screamed, there was no escape at all for him. He thought about jumping out of the window, but he got scared because he figured that the drop would kill him._

 _Not that he really cared all that much._

 _Death was better than living in this agony._

 _And don't think that he hadn't thought of just giving up and jumping out of that window because that thought crossed his mind every single day like a train going about its daily schedule._

 _But he didn't._

 _Because if he died, his father would have an excuse to start torturing and abusing his baby brother._

 _So he dealt with the pain._

 _And he dealt with the guilt._

 _And he dealt with the yelling, the screaming, the voices, the memories._

 _He dealt with it all._

 _Because he knew that while he was yelling and screaming, his baby brother was just a little ways down the hall, sleeping and perfectly healthy and fine._

 _And so all the while Gaster brought his hands down on him followed by kicks which followed by several objects such as hammers, nail, wrenches, and another trip down to the lab for another round of test pills and injections, Sans dealt with it all._

 _And he screamed the entire time._

 ** _But that still doesn't change what he did. It doesn't change the nightmares he gave me or the memories that still haunt me. The only right thing he did in that time period of madness was keep you safe all the while I was harmed._**

OoOoOoO

 _ **The day that that bastard disappeared was the second happiest day of my life.**_

 _He had awoken to a silent house. That in itself was strange. Normally there was always some assortment of sound, be it the wails from a hungry Papyrus, or the sound of some assortment of tool and test down in the lab. But that morning, silence had filled the small home. Sans had actually taken the liberty to look outside of his window to check to see if the daylight streaming in through the room was only an illusion and if it was really nighttime._

 _But no._

 _It was nearly ten in the morning, Sans could tell by how the light hit the snow on the outside ground. By now, Gaster had usually barged into his room and gave Sans the scraps from his breakfast. But that was normally at 8:30 in the morning. Sans sat in the corner of his room, too scared to get up and check the hallway for his father. And so he waited in his room for hours on end, the house staying frighteningly silent. He rocked back and forth a bit, arms wrapped around his legs. The ten year old didn't know what to do. He was so frightened._

 _And then he heard a sound._

 _It was a tiny little sound at first, nothing more than a plop._

 _And then came a rather roaring sound._

 _At first, Sans wasn't sure what to do. He got terrified as the silence transitioned into complete and utter chaos. He ran to his bed of rags and buried himself underneath it. But as the loud, roaring sound didn't cease, he soon realized what that sound what. He was confused. 'Father always feeds and changes Papyrus. Why is he crying', Sans wondered? Sans decided to stay in place and let his father take care of Papyrus so he wouldn't get in trouble for being outside of his room._

 _But the crying never ceased._

 _Even after an hour, the crying didn't stop._

 _At this point, Sans was so terribly confused, but he couldn't stand to hear his brother cry out in need. He undid the rags from his body and placed them back into the pile, but doing so very quietly and slowly, still awaiting for the presence of his father to be known in Papyrus's aid. But for the full extra ten minutes Sans waited, no aid came. So he finally courage up and opened his door. A crack at first, his eyes peering out and looking everywhere for a sign of life besides his crying two year old brother. But there wasn't any. No clothes were strewn about the hallway, and no other soul stepped into the hallway. The only signs of life that the house had to offer was the wailing of the two year old boy._

 _Sans fully opened his door. He looked around once more before finally walking to his baby brother's room. Well, the last time he had seen him, he had been a baby. Sans knew that Papyrus had grown a significant size since the last time he had seen him. He highly doubted that Papyrus even remembered him. Gaster had cut off any and all communications between his two sons, not wanting Sans to socialize with anyone, not even his own little brother. The last time Sans had seen Papyrus, Sans had still been eight._

 _Two, painfully long years without seeing his baby brother._

 _The only form of light he had in his life._

 _The only thing to remember his mother goodbye._

 _He was finally seeing for the first time in two years._

 _He wasn't ready, and he highly doubted that Papyrus was either. Especially when Papyrus wouldn't have a familiar face to trust._

 _But despite it all, Sans opened the door that led to Papyrus's room. He saw Papyrus on the floor, wailing and sobbing tears of mystery. Orange tears rolling down his cheeks, he was confused and...he looked in pain. It didn't take Sans long to figure out that Papyrus had climbed out of his crib and fell onto the floor, but Sans was too frozen to his place. Papyrus had grown so much._

 _He knew that he could no longer nearly fit into the palm of Sans's hand. He could no longer be swaddled and held in his arms like a tiny baby. He was the size of a toddler. A curious, tiny, toddler. He finally made a move to the toddler, tiny shuffling steps. He stopped in front of him before kneeling down. "H-Hey, P-Papyrus." Sans stuttered out._

 _This made Papyrus stop crying almost immediately. He studied the face in front of him. He placed his hands on the ground, stepping up and looking at Sans closer. Sans hadn't seen the face in front of him in years. Not since he had tried to escape with him when Papyrus was two months old, only to be drug back by his father and harshly beaten and sealed away from Papyrus. Papyrus placed a tiny hand on Sans's cheek near his left eye. The eye that Sans was now blind in. A light orange glow emitted from Papyrus's hand that caused Sans's vision in his bad eye to flicker. At one moment, he could see out of it before it flickered back into darkness and repeat the process over and over again. In the end, the orange glow stopped at around two minutes._

 _'His magic isn't that strong', Sans thought. Of course it wasn't. Papyrus was only two after all. After scanning the young toddler over quickly, searching for any bumps, bruises or scrapes. He found none. He gathered the squirmy two year old up in his arms and headed downstairs. He placed the young skeletal boy on the couch before he, too, plopped down on the sofa. It felt like a treat, being this close to his little brother and being able to rest on something as luxurious as a sofa._

 _He was going to wait until their father came home, taking care of Papyrus in turn._

 _The hours began to tick by as if they were nothing._

 _4:02_

 _5:17_

 _6:23_

 _7:38_

 _8:59_

 _Where was he?_

 _In the four hours Sans had continued to watch Papyrus, their father had not come home once. While Sans pondered the conundrum over in his head, Papyrus sat on the floor, playing with building blocks that Sans could only help but feel familiar with. He knew Papyrus had a majority of his old toys, but Sans didn't mind. He'd much rather Papyrus have them. Besides, he didn't need them. After the day had passed and night had fallen upon them, Sans had fallen asleep with Papyrus on the couch._

 _By the time morning came again, nothing had changed. And no matter what had happened, Sans knew one thing._

 _W. D. Gaster was gone._

 **Sorry for not posting in a while! I've been a bit preoccupied. Did you like it, love it, hate it? Let me know! Reviews are appreciated :)**


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